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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUJS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.   D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


THE 


t/ 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES 


OF 


NEW    YORK 


ITS   VICINITY. 


BY 


GABRIEL  P.  DISOSWAY,  A.  M., 

COBBESPONDING    MEMBER    OF    TUB    NEW    YORK    HISTORICAL    SOCIETT, 
ETC.,   ETC. 


"Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her:  tell  the  towers  thereof.     M.^rk  yo  well  her 
bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces,  that  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generations  following." 

Psalms. 


NEW  YORK: 
JAMES  G.  GREGORY,  540,  BROADWAY. 


MDCCCLXV. 


Entered  according;  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S64, 

By   GABKIEL   P.  DISOSWAY, 

In  the  Clcrli's  Oilice  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  Yorlc. 


C.    A.    AI.VOUD,    STHIlKOTYl'Kr.    AND    Pr.INTI'.U. 


REV.  THOMAS   E.  VERMILYE,  D.  D., 


ABEL  STEVENS,  LL.D., 

so    WKLL    ICNOWN    AND    ESTEEMED    FOR    THEIR    VALUABLE 

niSTOEIOAL   EESEAECIIES, 

AJS'D   AT   WHOSE  ADVICE  ESPECIALLY   THIS  AVORK   HAS  BEEK   tOJU-QSED  : 

TO    THESE    ESTEEMED    FRIENDS 

^l]is  D0luiue 

IS    NOW    OFFERED,    AS  A   TRIBUTE    OF  THE    AUTHOR'S 
REGARDS    AND    FRIENDSHIP. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  chapters  were  not  originally  written 
for  publication  in  a  volume  ;  but  were  composed  at  the 
request  of  the  Editors  of  the  "New  York  Observer," 
in  whose  excellent  paper  many  of  them  have  ali-eady 
appeared. 

This  work  is  not  professedly  a  history  of  the  earliest 
Churches  in  New  York  and  its  vicinity,  but  rather  a 
contribution  to  such  an  undertaking,  and  one  so  much 
needed.  In  its  composition,  the  author  has  been  careful 
to  consult  authentic  sources,  endeavoring  to  be  as  accu- 
rate and  reliable  as  possible. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  settlement  of  New 
Netherland,  or  New  York,  embraced  a  wide  extent  of 
territor}^,  and  hence  the  early  churches  within  its  bor- 
ders can  be  included  with  propriety  in  our-  general 
historical  plan.  In  recording  facts  of  the  same  character 
so  often,  no  great  variety  of  expression  or  style  could 


6  PKEFACE. 

be  indulged.  Our  object  has  been  to  present  the  in- 
formation in  a  concise  and  clear  manner.  The  chapters 
are  collected  into  the  present  volume,  that  something 
useful  may  be  better  preserved,  and  made  more  ac- 
cessible to  all  who  esteem  and  venerate  the  history, 
faith,  and  hope  of  our  earliest  churches. 

G.  P.  D. 

The  Clove,  Staten  Island,  Christmas,  1864. 


COE"TElNrTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  York  the  Earliest  Formed  in  North  America 
— Motley's  "  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic" — Emisrants  Sent  to  America  by  the  West  India 
Company — Director  Minuifs  Arrival,  1020 — The  Ziekentrooster — Rev.  Jonas  Michaelius,  the 
First  Minister — Dominie  Bogardus — First  Church — The  Second,  St.  Nicliolas,  Hoiv  Built 
— Earliest  Ministers — Garden  Street  Church  Built^Middle  and  North  Dutch  Built.  Page  13 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Dutch  Early  Introduced  Schools  in  New  Amsterdam — Evert  Pletersen,  the  Ziekentroos- 
ter— Sclioolhouse  Built — Children  Publicly  Catechised — New  Amsterdam  becomes  New 
York — The  School  Continued  as  Usual,  but  Broken  Up  for  a  time  by  Governor  Cornbury — 
Schoolbouse  Erected  (m  Garden  Street — Continued  three-quarters  of  a  Century — English 
Introduced  in  the  Public  Religious  Services — "  Sons  of  Liberty" — American  prisoners  in 
the  Churches— Great  Fire  of  1776— School  Reopened  After  the  Peace  of  1783— New  School- 
house  Built  in  1&47 89 

CHAPTER   III. 

First  Burial-place  in  New  York — Services  of  the  Church  of  Ensland  Introduced,  1664 — 
Mr.  Vesey,  the  First  Rector — Charlotte  Temple's  Grave — Rev.  Elias  Neau — Dr.  Vinton — 
Episcopal  Free  School  Established — Episcopal  Churches  Closed  in  the  Revolution — Drs. 
Cooper,  Auchmuty,  Charlton,  Barclay,  Inglis — Reply  to  "Common  Sense"  Seized  by  Sons 
of  Liberty  and  Burned — General  Ilowe  Lands  in  New  York — The  Great  Fire,  1776— Dr. 
Inglis  Retires  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  there  made  Bishop — The  Kins's  Farm — Trinity  Bur'.ied 
and  Rebuilt — St.  George's,  St.  PauVs,  and  St.  John's  built — Governor  Fletcher's  Arrival;  a 
High  Churchman— Churches  Ordered  to  be  Erected  in  Westchester,  Suffolk,  and  Rich- 
mond— Citizens  Taxed  for  their  Support 54 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Trinity  Church — Its  Princely  Liberality — Churches  Helped — Queen's  Farm — First  Wardens 
and  Vestrymen — Subscriptions  to  the  Building — New  Edifice — Governor  Fletcher's  Arms 
and  Pew— King's  Farm — Ministers'  Salaries  Small — Fees — Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  and  his  Assist- 
ants^Trinity  Enlarged,  1737 — Queen  Anne  Presents  Communion  Sets,  and  the  Bishop  of 
London,  a  Parochial  Library — Death  of  Mr.  Vesey 63 

CHAPTER    V. 

Rev.  Henry  Barclay  Inducted  into  Trinity  Church,  1746 — Chapel  of  Ease,  St.  George'.s — Drs. 
Milnor  and  Tyng — Washington  an  Attendant  here — Dr.  Samuel  Johnston,  au  "Assistant 
Minister  of  Trinity — Gulian  C.  Verplanek,  his  grandson,  now  a  Vestryman — Dr.  Johnston 
the  First  President  of  Columbia  College — New  Organ  for  Trinity— Dr.  Barclay's  Death — 
Rev.  John  Ogilvie,  his  Death  and  Benefactions— St.  Paul's  Built,  1763 — Here  General  'Wash- 
ington also  Worshipped — Rev.  Mr.  Vardill,  Benjamin  Moore,  and  Dr.  Bowden,  Assistant 
Ministers  In  Trinity — Mr.  Beach,  of  Connecticut, — Death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Auchmuty 71 

CHAPTER   VI. 

St.  George's  Burned  in  1814— Rebuilt  by  the  Liberality  of  Trinity — Benjamin  T.  Onderdonk 
.an  Assistant  Rector — Mr.  Hobart,  As,^istant  of  Bishop  Moor^' — Sketch  of  the  Bishop — Mr. 
Hobart,  a  warm  Churchman,  Electfd  Bishop,  ISU — Ilis  Death,  1830 — Dr.  Berrian  Elected 
Rector  of  Trinity,  Rev.  Henry  Anthon  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Wainwright,  Assistant  Ministers — 
Dr.  Wainwright  becomes  Bishop,  and  the  Rev.  Edward  G.  Higbee  an  Assistant  Minister  of 
Trinity — Bishop  Onderdonk — The  Present  beautiful  Trinity  erected,  and  Consecrated  Mav 
21, 1&46— Rev.  Thomas  C.  Brownell 80 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Episcopal  Church  Early  Regarded  the  Establishment  of  Schools — A  School  at  first  Held 
in  the  Belfry — Benefactions  to  the  School,  and  a  House  Built  on  Rector  Street — The  New 


8  CONTENTS. 

Ecliflce  in  Vaiick  Street — Origin  of  King's,  afterwards  Columbia,  College — Tlie  " King's 
Farm'" — Twenty-ftvo  Thousand  Dollar  Legacy Page  'SG 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

In  1685,  the  Jews  Refused  Permission  of  Public  Worship  by  the  City  Authorities — Churches 
in  Governor  Dongmi's  Administration — Petition  of  the  Jews — Synagogues  Built  in  Balti- 
more and  Itichinond— Burial-place  in  IGT'2 — First  Synagogue  Built  in  Mill  Street — Jewish 
Families  near  it— Haruian  Hendricks — Eev.  Gershom  Isaac  Jeshurun  Pintu — Mr.  Seixas — 
The  Eabbis — Karnes  of  the  Present  Temples— Jewish  Worship— The  Holy  Light 94 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Luther's  Name  a  Waymark  in  the  Church — Two  Centuries  Ago  a  Lutheran  Congregation  in 
New  York— Kev.  Jacob  Fabritius— But  Four  Clergymen  of  the  Established  Church  in  New- 
Netherlands — Conformity  attempted— The  Lutherans  and  Baptists  Troubled — William  Hal- 
let  Fined  Fifty  Pounds,  and  a  Baptist  Preacher  One  Hunch'ed  Pounds,  and  Ordered  from 
the  Colony — l!ev.  Erncstus  Goatwater  Banished — Governor  Stuyvesant  Censured  for  his 
Persecutions — In  I G64  New  Amsterdam  Becomes  New  York — Luthei-ans  Erect  a  Church, 
1702 — Kev.  Barnardus  Arentius  its  Pastor — Uev.  Jacob  Fabritius — His  Successors — Swedish 
Settlement  on  tlie  Delaware — In  1710,  Three  Thousand  Palatines  arrive  in  New  York — Church 
Burned  in  1T7G— Grace  (Episcopal)  Church  Occupies  the  Spot — Itev.  Mr.  Muhlenbergh — 
Swamp  Church — Dr.  Kunzie — Shaefler— Strobel — Geisseuhainer — Dr.  Milledoler  in  German 
Reformed  Church,  Nassau  Street 102 

CHAPTER   X. 

Origin  of  Friends  or  Quakers  in  England— George  Fox— Early  Persecuted  at  Boston — Wil- ' 
liam  Penn — lUibert  llodson  Arrives  in  New  York.  165G— George  Fox  Visits  Long  Island, 
1072 — Two  Women  the  First  Preacheis — The  Male  Preachers — Persecutions — Mrs.  Anna 
Bayard  nobly  Interferes  in  their  Behalf— Meetins-house  on  Liberty,  Pearl,  and  Rose 
Streets— New  Edifices  on  Hester,  Henry,  Orchard  Streets,  Gramercy  Park,  and  Stuyvesant 
Squ.are 115 

CHAPTER   XI. 

L'Egliso  du  Saint  Esprit— Its  Pastors— Eev.  Mr.  Neau— His  Descendants,  Captain  Oliver  IL 
Perry,  Dr.  Francis  Vinton — John  Pintard,  LL.D.,  and  Members  of  this  Church— Marot's 
P.salms— Huguenot  Psalmody— Old  French  Translation  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
seventh  Psalm— The  Church  Removed  to  Leonard  Street— Rev.  Mr.  Verren— Sacred  Ora- 
tors— James  Saurin— His  Brilliant  Eloquence 121 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Wall  Street  Presbytcri.an  Church— Its  Origin  and  Earliest  Preachers — Church  Erected  on 
Wall  Street — Whiteficld  Labors — Dift'erence  of  Opinion  in  the  Congregation — First  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  Church,  Built  on  Cedar  Street — Rev.  John  Murray 131 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Wall  Street  and  Brick  Churches — Rev.  Dr.  Rogers  the  "  Father  of  Presbyterkanism"  in  New 
York — Rev.  Gardiner  Spring  Called  to  Brick  Church — Ilis  Church  Turned  into  a  Hospital 
in  the  War  of  the  Revolution— Sorrowful  Scenes  in  it — Wall  Street  Church  "Charity 
School"— Rutgers  and  Cedar  Street  Churches  Built — Drs.  Miller  and  McKniglit — Rev.  Mr. 
Whelpley — Dr.  Phillips — Wall  Street  Church  Removed  to  Jersey  ('ity — Members  of  the 
Brick  Church — Anson  G.  Phelps — Horace  Ilolden •. 142 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Cedar  Street  Church  Founded- Dr.  Romeyn  Called — Church  Removed  to  Duane  Street — Eev. 
Dr.  Potts— Associations  of  Cedar  Street  Church— Old  Members— William  Hall,  of  Cleve- 
land, the  only  Surviving  Member  of  tlic  Original  Subscribers  to  the  Church — Pelctiah  Perit 
— Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander  Installed— The  New  Church  on  the  Fifth  Avenue 160 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Scotch  Presbyt<M-ian  Church  Built — Eev.  John  Mason — His  Son,  John  M.  Mason,  D.  D.,  Suc- 
ceeds him — Tlieological  Seminaries  Established — Dr.  Mason  in  the  Puljiit  and  as  a  Writer — 
Ills  Work  on  "Catholic  Conmiunion" — President  of  Carlisle  College — Rev.  Messrs.  Suod- 
grasa  and  Mc.Vuley  Succeed  him  in  the  Murray  Street  Cinircli— Church  Sold  and  Congrega- 
tion Remove  to  Astor  Place — Associate  Presbyterian  Church — ICarliest  Churches — Foreign 


CONTENTS.  9 

History — TJev.  J.nmos  Prondflt  Arrives  in  this  Country,  vrith  Other  Ministers — New  Union 
Forme'd,  and  its  I^eadei-s  Kev.  Thomas  Clark,  Eobcrt  Annan,  Dr.  Alexander  Proudflt— Set- 
tlement of  Irish  I'resbyterians  in  Orange  County,  New  York,  under  Auspices  of  Col.  Clinton 
—Another  in  Washington  County Pago  164 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Colonel  Eutcers  Presents  a  Lot  for  a  Now  Presbyterian  Church — Dr.  Milledoler  Called— Drs. 
McClelland  McAuley,  and  Krebs  his  Successors— liefornied  Presbyterian  Church  Organized 
—■William  Ognek— liev.  Mr.  McKinney's  Arrival — First  Sacrament — Alexander  McLeod 
Installed— His  Sermon  on  Negro  Slavery — Church  Erected  on  Chambers  Street— Itebuilt, 
and  then  Removed  to  Greenwich  Village— Dr.  McLeod's  Last  Public  Appearance  in  the 
Pulpit— His  Labors— Leading  Members  .of  his  Church,  Messrs.  Agnew,  G'lford,  Nelson — 
Rev.  John  N.  McLeod  Succeeds  his  Father— Church  Itemoved  to  Prince  Street 174 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

Associate  Presbyterian  Church  Formed  by  I'ev.  Mr.  Beveridge,  1785,  and  House  Ei'ected  on 
Nassau  Street— His  Successors  Unite  with  the  General  Assembly  of  Presbyterian  Church 
Ministers — Magazine  Street  Church,  afterwards  Pearl — Its  first  Pastor,  I!ev.  Pobert  Forest 
—His  Successors,  John  Clark,  William  W.  Phillips,  Walter  Monteitli,  Benjamin  Bice,  Henry 
A.  Kowland,  Charles  H.  Bead— Church  Burned  and  Bebuilt— Baptist  Church  Cnmmenced, 
nC2—lts  Founders— Elder  Gano— Gold  Street  Church  turned  into  a  Stable  for  the  British 
Cavalry— Ministers— New  Stone  Church  built  1S02— Slavery  Question— New  Congregation 
Formed  on  Bose  Street— Eev.  Mr.  Parkinson — New  Church  Built  on  Broome  and  Elm 
Streets,  Kev.  Dr.  Cone,  Pastor— Churches  sprung  from  Gold  Street  Congregation IBti 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Baptist  Churches,  continued— "Bcthesda"— Second  Baptist  Church— Bethel,  on  Eose  Street- 
Pastors— Eev.  Mr.  Chase — Ills  New  Church  on  Christie  and  Delancey— Difliculties — Oliver 
Street  Church— Eev.  John  Williams,  Pastor;  Mr.  Cone,  Assistant— Abyssinian  Church  in 
Anthony,  near  West  Broadway — Ministers — North  Bereah  Church  in  Vandani — A  Colony 
from  Gold  Street— Destroyed  by  Fire,  and  a  New  House  built  in  McDowell  Street — Pastors 
— Other  Churches  from  the  Bercan 199 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

The  Moravi.an  Church — "  ITnitas  Fratrum"'- Its  Origin — Count  Zinzondorf— Missions — David 
Bruce  sent  to  Preach  in  New  York  and  on  Long  and  Staten  Islands — Bishop  Spangenberg's 
Visit— Captain  Garrison — Mission  Commenced  on  Staten  Island — Ministers  thrru — Ceme- 
tery— Commodore  Vanderbilt's  Family  Vault — Mr.  Binninger's  Grave — Chnreli  Built,  1763 
— Church  Eecords — Captain  Jacobsen  Shot— Sails  a  Missionary  Ship — Pastors— Mor.avians 
in  New  York,  17BG— Bishop  Boehlcr's  and  Zinzendorfs  Visit — Persecutions — Bishop  Watti- 
vel's  Visit — Fulton  Street  Church  Built,  1751 — Pastors  in  New  York — Benjamin  Mortimer, 
William  Vanvleek,  afterwards  Bishoii,  Mr.  Bigler 205 

CHAPTER   XX. 

Origin  of  Methodism — Condition  of  England  when  Wesley  Appeared — Opinions  of  Bishop 
liurnct  and  Archbishop  Seeker  and  liutler— Wesley  Preaching  to  the  poor  Palatines  in 
Ireland,  1750— Philip  Emburj^,  the  Father  of  American  Methodism— Irish  L.ay  Preachers, 
Swindells— Phili;)  Guier— Walsh— Southey's  Opinion  of  him — Embury  emigrates  to  New 
York,  17C0,  delivering  his  Last  Sermon  in  Ireland  from  the  side  of  the  Ship — Another  Ar- 
rival, in  1700,  at  New  York,  of  Irish  Wcsleyans— Paul  Kuckle,  Jacob  Heck,  and  others  218 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Methodist  Church,  continued- Captain  Webb  Appears— Eigcing-loft  Obtained  for  Eeligious 
Meetings— John  Street  Church  Built,  1708,  the  First  Methodist  Church  in  America— Sub- 
scriptions to  Build  the  Church  from  the  Vestry  and  Eector  of  Trinity  and  others— Captain 
Webb's  Life— Boardman  and  Pilmore,  the  first  Wesleyan  Preachers  to  America,  1768 — As- 
bury  and  Wriaht  followed,  1771— Embury's  Death— Strange  Scene  in  John  Street  Church  on 
a  Watch-inght— An  English  Colonel  the  Cause  of  it— Apology— Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  Organized,  1784-5— Eapid  Advance  sirTce- Old  John  Street  taken  down 
and  a  New  Church  Built  in  its  place— Church  Library— Summerfield's  Cenotaph— Third 
Church  Erected— Fathers  of  Methodism  in  New  York— Mr.  Lupton  and  his  Descendants  226 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Description  of  New  Nethcrland,  by  Father  Isaac  Jaques,  a  Jesuit  Missionary,  1CC4 — His  Jour- 
neys— Murdered  by  the  Indians— Earliest  Catholic  Families  in  New  York— Governor  Don- 


10  COl^TENTS. 

pan — Laws  against  the  Roman  Catholics — ^NVgro  Plot — Catholic  Priest  Officiating  in  Now 
Nethciland — James  II.,  on  the  Throne,  Favors  his  own  Creed — Donjran  liecalleil — William 
and  Mary  Proelainied  King  and  Queen — Tlu-  English  Church  becomes  the  Kislablished  ono 
in  New  York — Persecutions— A  t'ongretration  formed  in  1783 — St.  Peter" s,  Barclay  Street, 
built  in  1TS6— Rev.  Mr.  Nugent  its  Minister — Ilis  Successors — St.  Peter's  Uebuilt  in  1S36, 
Bishop  Dubois  Laying  the'Corner-Stone— St.  Patrick's  followed,  in  1815 — Here  Bishop 
Hughes  resided — The  Catholics  Purchase  Dr.  Lyell's  Episcopal  Church,  Ann  Street — Dr. 
McLeod's,  Chambers  Street — The  old  Universalist,  on  Duane  Street,  and  the  Presbyterian 
on  Astor  I'lace — Universalist  Church — Uev.  John  Murray  the  Earliest  Preacher — A  Society 
Formed — Kev.  Edward  Mitchell  becomes  their  Minister — They  Purchase  a  Church  on  Pearl 
Street,  and  soon  alter  erect  the  Brick  Church  on  Duane  Street,  near  Chatham — Mr.  Mitchell 
continued  their  Minister  until  his  Death,  a  period  of  Forty  Years— His  Successors  in  the 
Ministry Pago  241 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Huguenots  among  the  Earliest  Emigrants  to  America — Their  First  Ministers — Edict  of  Nantes 
— Henry  I\'. — Fall  of  llochelle— Edict  Kevoked— Eniigrntion  of  the  Huguenots — Admiral 
Coligny  (lOou) — French  Protestants  reach  Charleston,  Boston,  and  New  Itochelle — Rev. 
Daniel" Bondet — New  Paltz  (1G7T)— Walloon  Churches— Staten  Island 252 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Huguenot  Refugees  Settle  Now  Rochelle,  169S — Church  Organized  and  Built — D.avid  Bonrepos, 
D.  D..  Ill  St  Pastor — Preaches  on  Staten  Island — llecei^es  •'  Letters  of  Denization"' — Manor  of 
Pelham — Dauiel  Bondet  the  next  Huguenot  Minister — Ilis  Early  History— Missionary  to 
the  NipmuiT  Indians,  1693 — War  Compels  him  to  Leave — Called  to  New  Itochelle — Salary 
Thirty  Pounds — Prayers  in  French — His  Congregation  Conforms  to  the  Church  of  England, 
170'J — New  Church  Built — Governor  Hunter — Negro  Couimunicauts — Lewis  Uoux,  Hugue- 
not Minister  in  New  York — Bondet's  Death,  ll-Z-l — Pierre  Stouppe  Succeeds  him — Tho 
"Ancic^ns,"  or  Elders — Nesro  Ba|itisms — French  -'Dissenters" — Mr.  Moulinars — Earliest 
Settlement  of  New  Rochelle — Mr.  Stouppe's  Death,  ITtiO — Buried  under  Chancel  of  the 
Church — His  Successor,  Rev.  Michael  Houdin 259 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

Rev.  Peter  Daillc  and  Michael  IIou<lin  at  New  Rochelle — The  Huguenots  there  Conform  to 
the  Episcopal  Church  (17S1) — Rev.  T.  Bartow,  First  Rector — His  Descendants — Successors 
in  the  Ministry — Trinity  Built — Rev.  Mr.  Bayard — Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  an  Asylum 
for  Huguenots — Dr.  Richebourg  their  first  Pastor  in  Virginia — "MannikiuTown'' — Curious 
French  Relic — Rev.  John  Fontaine — Huguenots  in  South  Carolina,  and  Pastors — Church  in 
Charleston — Rev.  Ellas  Prioleau — This  Congregation  the  Only  One  of  the  Kind  in  our  Land 
—Its  Liturgy 270 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Southold  the  First  Settled  Town  on  L<ing  Lsland  (1640),  Rev.  J.  Youngs,  Pastor— His  Succes- 
sors— lames  Davenport  an  Enthusiast,  biit  Reforms — Southampton  Church  Built,  1640 — Rev. 
Mr.  Pierson — the  "Plantation  Covenant" — The  lieformrrs  Emigrate  to  Newark.  New  Jersey 
— Ministers  of  Southampton — Salaries — Bridgehampton  Parish — Ministers — Brookhaven  tho 
Larirest  Town — Rev.  N.  Brewster  and  Successors — Easthainpton  Settled  by  Purit;ins  (164S) 
— Strict  Laws — Voting — Thomas  James,  Karliest  Pastor — His  Singular  Dying  Request — 
Rev.  N.  Hatting— Dri^  Buell  Preached  Ten  Thousand  Sermons— Dr.  Lvman  Beecher,  the 
Fourth  Pastor 290 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Churches  on  Long  Island,  continued — Huntington — Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  First  Minister — Rev.  Eben- 
ezer  Prime  his  Assistant,  then  Sole  Pastor— Congregation  much  Dispersed  by  the  Revolu- 
tionary War — Outrages  of  the  Enemy,  and  Permitted  by  Colonel  Thompson — Patriotism  of 
Mr.  Prime — Tho  Indians — Rev.  Mr.  Lcverieh  Preaches  to  Them  (1053) — Rev.  A.  llorlon  Or- 
dained to  Labor  among  them — A  Faithful  JIan — Ilis  Journal — Brainard — Sanijison  Oecum, 
the  Mohegan  Indian — His  Zeal  and  Labors — A  Pout — Extracts — Peter  John,  another  Native 
(Jonvert  and  Preacher — Paul  Cutl'ee,  another— His  Tombstone  and  Inscription — Disappear- 
ance of  the  Indians  on  Lon^  Island 299 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Whitefiold's  Visit  to  East  Hampton  (1764)— Reviv.al— Baptist  Church  in  a  New  Light— Peter 
Underbill  and  Sarah  Townsend — Quakers — George  Fox — First  Meetinir-IIouse  at  Oyster 
Bay — Elias  Hicks — Jamaica — Rev.  John  Hubbard,  First  Minister — His  Bible — Successors— 


CONTENTS.  11 

IJev.  A.  Kettletas  Preaches  in  Three  Lansnages— Persecuted  by  the  British— Rev.  Samuel  Sea" 
bury,  the  Earliest  Kpisc(i[ial  Bishop  in  tibe  United  States— Colony  troni  Jamaica  to  Elizabeth" 
lown,  New  Jersey — Itev.  Mr.  Polhemus,  First  Dominie  at  Flatbush  (1G55)—  Churches  Built — 
Gravesend  "Foresinger" — Erasmus  Hall — Kev.  Mr.  Solinius  and  Van  Zuren,  1077,  and  Succes- 
sors— New  Utrecht— Whigs  and  Royalists — Collegiate  Churches — Gravesend  Quai;ers  (1G57) 
— Fox's  Visit— Magistrates— Kev.  Mr.  Schoonmaker — New  Utrecht  (1054)— Church  liuilt— 
Dominies— General  Howe's  Landing  ('GO)— Bushwick — First  House — French  Settlers — 
Odious  Taxes  by  Governor  Nicols— Church  Erected — Its  Ministers — Brooklyn— First 
Churches  and  Dominies — Episcopalians Page  308 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

New  Netherland  Embraced  a  Part  of  New  Jersey — Dutch  Plantations  at  Bergen— "  Pavonia" 
—First  Settlers — Tax  lor  a  Church— First  Members— Old  Graveyard— Dominie's  "Voorle- 
ser"— Octagonal  Church  Erected  (16S0)— Selyns  Preaches  Here  Three  Times  a  Year- Other 
Pastors — Kev.  Mr.  Dubois's  Death — Wampum,  the  (Jhurch  Money— How  Collected— Regular 
Pastor  Called  (1750)— Rev.  P.  De  Wint— His  Salary— Staten  Island— Origin  of  Dutch  Church 
There — Unites  with  Bergen  (1752)— Rev.  Mr.  Jackson — Governor  Franklin  Charters  the 
Church— Its  Elders  and  Deacons — Unites  with  the  Hackensack  Classis  (1771)— New  Church 
"Sittings" — Dominie  Jackson  Second  to  Whiteflcld— Long  Sermon,  and  Mr.  Schureman — . 
Old  Baptismal  Record 325 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

Bergen — Dominie  Cornelison  Preaches  in  Dutch  and  English — Teaches  the  Slaves  to  Read — 
Successors — Rev.  Dr.  Taylor  Still  Preaching  at  Bergen — Last  Services  in  the  Old  Church — 
New  Edifice  Dedicated — '•  Van"  a  Common  Prefix  to  Dutch  Names — Hackensack — Kev.  P. 
Tascheinakerthe  Fu-st  Dominie  (1GS6) — Murdered  Afterwards  by  the  Indians  at  Schenectady 
— His  Successors  in  Hackensack — Acquacanonck  Church  Erected — Initials  of  Founders  on 
the  Corner-Stimes — Church  Organized  at  Raritan  by  Kev.  Mr.  Bertholf— Church  Built  at 
Schraalenbergh  (1724) — Rev.  Gualtherus  Dubois — Dominies — "Ca'tus  and  Conferentiuj" — 
Drs.  Kuypers  and  Komeyn,  Pastors — the  Revolution  and  its  Troubles — Church  at  Hacken- 
sack Rebuilt — Subscriptions  (1791) — Still  Standing 336 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Remarkable  Storm  (1795)— The  Steeple  of  the  Hackensack  Church  Struck  by  Lightning;  its 
Legend  Broken — Dr.  Linn's  Able  Discourse — Dominie  becomes  an  "  Emeritus"  Minister — 
Three  Sons  in  the  Sacred  Office — Rev.  James  V.  C.  Romeyn — New  Church  Built — Secession 
— The  Leaders — Dr.  Komeyn's  Son  Called  to  take  his  Place — Church  Enlarged  (1847)  and 
Legend  Removed — Eminent  Dead  in  Hackensack  Graveyard:  General  Poor,  Dr.  Peter  Wil- 
son, Colonel  Varick,  &c.^Sohraalenbergh — English  Neighborhood — Land  Given  for  a  Church, 
which  was  Erected  (17G5);  Mr.  Cornelisim  the  Dominie — Successors — Church  Ditliculties — 
The  "True  Reformed  Church" — -.Decision  of  S\ipreme  Court  Adverse  to  Secession — Seceders 
Erect  New  Churches — Rev.  Mr.  Abeel — D.  Duryea,  his  Death  and  Monument — Rev.  Mr. 
McFarlaue  and  P.  B.  Tayh)r , 346 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Second  River  (Belleville),  the  Last  of  the  Five  Earliest  Churches 
Erected  (1725) — Mr.  Coens,  Pastor — Mr.  Arent  Schuyler,  a  Liberal  Christian — Isaac  Brown, 
an  Episcopalian  Clergyman,  Claims  his  Benefactions — Mr.  Haughoort,  the  .Dominic — His 
Successors — Church  incorporated  (17i)0)  and  Schoolhouse  Erected — Preaching  in  Dutch 
discontinued — Tornado  Demolishes  the  Steeple — New  Church — Rev.  Mr.  Stryker — Domi- 
nies—Stephen Van  Cortland — llis  Liberality — New  Church  (1853) — John  Van  Rensselaer's 
Liberal  Proposition — Ministers — Colonies  from  Belleville  Congregation— Ministerial  Fami- 
lies— Schoonmaker,  Stryker,  and  Romeyn 356 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Raleigh  Names  the  Whole  Region  from  Virginia  to  Maine  as  Virginia — New  Jersey  Attached 
to  New  York,  and  by  Royal  Patent  Conveyed  to  Lord  Berkeley — Two  Hundred  Acres  of 
Land  Granted  in  every  Parish  fur  the  Sup|iort  of  the  Ministry— Governor  Carteret  (1065) 
Arrives,  with  Thirty  English  Settlers— Emigrants  from  New  England  and  Long  Island — 
Presbyterian  Church  first  Organized  (lGOO-7)— Church  Burned  by  a  "Refugee" — Another 
Erected — John  Harriman,  Pastor — Colonial  Troubles— Governor  Andros  of  New  York — The 
"Five  Proprietors" — Death  of  Charles  II.,  and  Accession  of  James  11. — Internal  Dissensions 
— Queen  Anne  Unites  East  and  Vv'est  Jersey — High  Churchism  — Book  of  Common  Prayer 
to  be  Read — Governor  Cornbury,  a  Profligate,  Deposed — Perseentif'd  the  Presbyterian  Min- 


12  CONTENTS. 

istcrs  in  New  Jersey — Ministers — l^ev.  J.  Pickinson — His  Published  Works — "Whitefield 
Preaclica  in  Elizab^-tlitown — Small  Salaries — Messrs.  Kcttlotas  and  Caldwell — Kev.  Mr.  Linn 
— Sinods— A  College  at  Klizabethtown— liemoved  to  Newark— Itev.  Aaron  Burr,  President 
— Next  to  Princeton — Mr.  Dickinson's  Death — His  Useful  Life — John  Sargean Page  361 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Presbyterian  Church,  Elizabethtown— Klisha  Spencer,  D.  T>.,  Succeeds  Mr.  Dickinson— Church 
Incorporated — Governor  Belcher  Joins  this  ConirrcLration — Rev.  Mr.  Kettlctas  Olliciated  in 
Three  Laniruages — Kev.  James  Caldwell,  a  Iluccnenot — His  Family — Becomes  a  Chaplain — 
Obnoxious  to  the  '-Tories"- Ills  Parsonage  anil  Churcli  Burned  (ITSl)— His  Wife  Murdered, 
and  his  Tragical  Death — Eminent  Men  in  his  Congregation — Ogden.  Boiidinot,  Livingston, 
and  Dayton— Sketch  of  Mr.  Boudinot — New  Church  Built  in  ITSfr— Notice  of  Mr.  Livingston, 
a  Friend  of  General  Hamilton — Kev.  W.  Linn  Installed  (17S6) 3T1 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

K«v.  David  Austin  Succeeds  Mr.  Linn,  and  has  a  Strange  History — Declares  the  Coming  of 
Christ  (1T9G)— Groat  Excitement — Takes  the  Vow  of  a  Nazarite— Removes  to  New  Haven, 
and  Finally  was  Relieved  of  his  Fanaticism— Successors— Drs.  Kolloek,  McDowell,  and  Mur- 
ray—Second Presbyterian  Church,  and  Methodist  Episcopal — Rev.  Thomas  Morroll 879 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Charles  II.  Incorporates  tlie  Society  to  Preach  the  Gospel  among  the  Natives  of  America  (1661) 
— Archbishop  Tenison — William  III.  Incorporates  Another,  and  of  Great  Service  to  the 
Episcopal  Chureh— (Colonel  Morris — His  Rciiort  on  State  of  Religion  in  New  Jersey — Keith 
and  Talbot's  Missionary  Tour — John  Brook,  First  Episcopal  Clergyman  in  Elizabethtown — 
His  Reports — St.  John's  Built  (1T06) — His  Labors — Lord  Cornbury  Unites  the  New  Jersey 
and  New  York  Provinces — Imprisons  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moore — Mr.  Brook,  Fearing  the  Same 
Treatment,  Sails  for  England — Cornbury  Removed  and  Imprisoned,  and  after  becomes  a  Peer 
— Mr.  Vaughan  the  next  Missionary — Piscataqua — The  Earliest  Baptist  Settlement  (10C3), 
and  their  First  Preacher,  Hugh  Dunn — Successors — Church  at  Scotch  Plains — Episcopalians 
Again — Mr.  Vaugh.in  Marries  a  Fortune — Preaches  in  Elizabeth  Forty  Years — Successors — 
Eev.  Mr.  Chandler,  etc.,  etc.,  down  to  1S53 3S3 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

Kxtent  of  New  Netherland— Its  Settlers— Palatines  at  Kingston  (1660)— Beautiful  Tradition— 
"Tri-Cors" — French  Bible — Religious  Liberty — Church  Organized  at  New  Paltz  by  Rev.  P. 
Daille  (IGSS)— The ''Walloon  Protestant  Church" — His  Mission — French  the  common  Lan- 
guage— The  '•  Duzine" — Louise  Duboise,  Elder,  and  Hugh  Freer,  Deacon — Daille's  (Jravo 
recently  Discovered — Inscription — His  Will — Bonrepos  his  Successor  at  New  Paltz  (1090) — 
Dutch  Language  Introduced- Now  Church — Curious  Document 395 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

New  Paltz,  continued — Reformed  Dutch  Church— Dominie  Van  Dricssen — The  Ccetus  and 
Conferentia' — Rev.  M.  Fieyenmoet  jointly  called  by  liochester,  Marbletown,  Shawangunk, 
and  New  Paltz — Mr.  Goetschius  Succeeded  him — A  Teacher  of  Theology — His  Younger 
Brother,  an  M.  D.,  takes  his  ]>lace,  preaching  in  German  and  Dutch — Called  the  "Doctor 
Dominie" — Cures  a  Maniac  by  Music — Division  in  the  Church  (HOT) — Dominies — Old 
Church  at  New  Paltz  taken  down  and  new  one  erected — Rev.  S.  Goetschius  the  Minister 
(1T75) — Unites  the  two  (Jongregations — Indian  Incursions — New  Paltz  iseapes— The  Pas- 
tor's Last  Sermon — His  Successors,  Rev.  W.  R.  Bogardus,  Van  Olinda,  and  Vander- 
voort 401 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

First  Church  in  Albany,  1042 — Pulpit  Imported — Enlarged — Second  and  Third  Churches — 
Rev.  J.  Megapolensis  the  Earliest  Dominie — Salary — Dominie  Schaats,  1652 — Rovs.  M. 
Niemenhuysen  and  N.  Van  Rensselaer — Latter  Suspected  of  being  a  Papist — Arrested,  but 
Released  by  the  Governor — Rev.  Mr.  Dellius  Arrives,  1G^3 — Baptismal  Itegi.ster  Preserved 
— Dominies  Lncella,  Ledius,  and  Van  Driessen — Church  Rebuilt  in  1715 — Revs.  C.  Van 
Schlie  and  T.  Frelinghuvsen,  1700— E.  Westerlo — J.  Basset — New  Church  Built— Revs.  A. 
B.  Johnson,  J.  W.  Bradford,  ISOo— First  Settler  in  Schenectady- Its  Massacre,  1090— Rev. 
Mr.  Tassomaker  Killed — Revs.  T.  Brown,  B.  Freeman,  R.  Erkson,  C.  Van  Santvoort,  B. 
Coomer,  J.  D.  Romeyn,  T.  n.  Meyers,  C.  Bogardus,  J.  Van  Veehten — First  and  Second 
Church — St.  George's.  First  Episcopal  (170'J).  J.  Duncan,  Rector — Rev.  Mr.  Doty  and  An- 
drews, and  Rogers,  etc. — Captain  Webb  introduces  Methodism — Preaches  in  Re;rimcntals — 
His  Success — Whitefield — ('liureh  Built — Conelnding  Remarks — Blessed  Results  from  the 
Establishment  of  these  Early  Churches  in  New  York  and  New  Amsterdam 410 


■■  1 1  II  1111 


RIP  VAN  DAME. 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES  IN  NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER    I. 


THE     COLLEGIATE     REFORMED     DUTCH     CHURCH     OF     NEW     YORK     THE 

EARLIEST    FORMED    IN     NORTH     AMERICA MOTLEy's     "  RISE    OF    THE 

DUTCH    republic" EMIGRANTS     SENT    TO     AMERICA     BY     THE    WEST 

INDIA       COMPANY  DIRECTOR       MINUIT's       ARRIVAL,      1G20  THE 

ZIEKENTROOSTER REV.    JONAS    MICHAELIUS,  THE    FIRST    MINISTER 

DOMINIE    BOGARDUS FIRST    CHURCH THE     SECOND,    ST.     NICHOLAS, 

HOW       BUILT' EARLIEST       MINISTERS GARDEN       STREET       CHURCH 

BUILT DOMINIE     DUBOIS MIDDLE      AND     NORTH     DUTCH     BUILT 

THEia    MINISTERS. 

The  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Clmrcli  of  New  York 
was  the  first  formed  in  North  America,  dating  its  origin 
from  the  earliest  settlement  on  Manhattan  Island.  Its 
name  is  derived  from  historical  associations.  The  term 
Protestant,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  applied  to  the 
Reformers  and  all  who  denied  the  authority  of  the  Pope 
and  rejected  the  unscriptural  doctrines  of  the  Romish 
Church.  The  term  itself  arose  in  1529,  when  six  princes 
of  the  German  Empire  solemnly  protested  against  the 
decrees  of  the  Diet  of  Spires,  and  it  has  ever  since  been 
the  distinctive  name,  universally  used,  as  applied  to 
the  blessed  Reformation.  Early  in  the  Reformation  a 
difference  happened  among  the  Protestants  on  some 
points,  and  particularly  with  respect  to  the  real  pres- 


14  EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

ence  of  Clirist's  humanity  in  tlie  Lord's  Supper.  Those 
who  held  the  doctrine  with  Luther,  the  great  Reformer, 
were  called  Lutherans,  whilst  they  rejecting  it,  Re- 
formed. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany,  a 
spuit  of  religious  inquiry  spread  through  the  Nether- 
lands, when  a  terrible  struggle  for  civil  and  religious 
liberty  ensued  against  the  gigantic  power  of  the  PajDal 
Empire.  The  Truth  triumphed.  Seven  northern  prov- 
inces of  Holland  became  independent,  whilst  the  ten 
southern  were  attached  to  the  Imperial  and  Papal 
power.  Studious  readers  will  find  the  history  of  this 
great  struggle  of  the  sixteenth  century  in  those  admi- 
rable works  of  research  and  classical  finish — the  ' '  Reign 
of  Philip  the  Second,"  and  "The  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,"  down  to  1684,  by  Motley.  These  volumes 
have  inspired  an  interest  in  the  historj^  of  the  martyrs 
and  heroes  in  the  Holland  Reformation  never  before  felt 
and  known.  The  noble  "  Confessors"  of  the  Nether- 
lands unfold  as  rich  a  page  as  can  be  opened  in  any 
history.  When  first  formed,  they  called  their  churches 
"  The  Churches  under  the  Cross."  In  1563  its  ministers 
assembled  at  Antwerp,  and  established  a  Synod  of  the 
Churches,  and  soon  after  adopted  the  Catechism  and 
Confession,  which,  to  this  day,  constitute  the  doctrinal 
standards.  The  Reformed  Church  of  Holland  became 
distinguished  for  hej^  learned  theologians  and  devoted, 
zealous,  and  pious  pastors.  Her  bosom  was  the  home 
of  the  iDersecuted  Waldenses,  Huguenots,  -vvitli  the  Cov- 
enanters and  the  exiled  Puritans.  Such,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  was  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland, 


EARLIEST  CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  15 

from  which  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  America 
derives  its  origin. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  West  India  Company, 
whenever  they  sent  emigrants  under  their  auspices  to 
America,  also  sent  with  them  a  pious  schoohnaster, 
wliose  duty  was  to  instruct  the  children,  preside  in  re- 
ligious meetings,  and  read  a  sermon,  until  the  regular 
ministry  should  he  established.  This  individual  wag 
caUed  the  Ziekentrooster,  or  Comforter  of  the  Sick. 
Director  Minuit  arrived  at  Manhattan,  May  4,  1G20,  in 
the  ship  Sea  Mew,  when  two  Ziekentroosters  were  se- 
lected to  read  the  Scriptures  and  Creeds  to  the  people  on 
Sundays.  Their  names  have  been  preserved — Sebastian 
Jansen  Krol  and  Jan  Huyck.  When  Fort  Orange  was 
built,  and  a  trading  post  established  there,  Krol  Avas 
appointed  Vice-Director  of  tliiit  settlement,  seldom  visit- 
ing Manhattan.  From  a  recently  discovered  letter  by 
Mr.  Murphy,  whilst  Minister  at  the  Hague,  we  learn 
that  the  Rev.  Jonas  Michaelius  reached  the  "Island  of 
Manhatas,  in  New  Netherland,  this  11th  August,  anno 
1628."  The  Rev.  Dominie  Bogardus  came  with  Gov- 
ernor Van  Twiller,  and  has  always  been  considered  the 
earliest  minister.  Mr.  Michaelius,  however,  arrived  here 
five  years  earlier  (1628).  His  letter  is  long,  curious,  and 
full  of  interest  about  the  infant  settlement ;  and  he  says : 
"We  have  first  established  the  form  of  a  church,  and  it 
has  been  thought  best  to  choose  two  elders  for  my  assist- 
ance. .  .  .  One  of  those  whom  we  have  chosen  is  the 
Honorable  Director  himself.  .  .  .  We  have  had  at  the 
first  administration  of  the  Lord' s  Supper  full  fifty  com- 
municants— not  without  great  joy  and  comfort  for  so 


16  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK. 

many— Walloons  and  Dutch.  .  .  .  We  administer  the 
Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Lord  once  in  four  months.  The 
Walloons  and  French  have  no  service  on  Sundays 
otherwise  than  in  the  Dutch  language,  of  which  they 
understand  very  little.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  administered  to  them  in  the  French  lan- 
guage, and  according  to  the  French  mode,  with  a  pre- 
ceding discourse,  which  I  had  before  me  in  writing,  as  I 
could  not  tinist  myself  extemporaneously."  Such  was 
the  earliest  ecclesiastical  history  of  New  Netherland  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  years  ago. 

The  same  letter  describes  the  Indians  of  the  new  coun- 
try: "Savage  and  wild,  strangers  to  all  decency,  yea, 
uncivil  and  stupid  as  posts,  proficient  in  all  Avickedness 
and  ungodliness,  devilish  men,  who  serve  nobody  but 
the  devil ;  that  is,  the  spirit,  which  in  their  language 
they  call  'Manetto.'  .  .  .  They  are  as  thievish  and 
treacherous  as  they  are  -tall ;  and,  in  cruelty,  they  are 
more  inhuman  than  the  people  of  Barbary,  and  far 
exceed  the  Africans.  .  .  .  How  these  people  can  best 
be  led  to  the  true  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  Mediator 
Christ,  is  hard  to  say.  .  .  .  The  country  yields  many 
good  things  for  the  support  of  life,  but  they  are  all  to  be 
gathered  in  an  uncultivated  and  wild  state.  We  have 
ten  or  twelve  farmers,  with  horses,  cows,  and  laborers 
in  proportion,  to  furnish  us  with  bread  and  fresh  butter, 
milk,  and  cheese.  They  are  making  a  windmill  to  saw 
the  wood,  and  we  also  have  a  gristmill.  .  .  .  The  coun- 
try is  good  and  pleasant ;  the  climate  is  healthy,  not- 
withstanding sudden  changes  of  cold  and  heat.  The 
sun  is  very  warm  ;  the  winter  strong  and  severe,  and 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IJST   NEW   YORK.  17 

continues  full  as  long  as  in  our  country.  The  best 
remedy  is  not  to  spare  tlie  wood,  of  wliicli  there  is 
enough,  and  to  cover  oneself  Avell  with  rough  skins, 
which  can  easily  be  obtained.  .  .  . 

"Jonas  Michaelius." 

Such  is  the  graphic  picture  of  our  great  city,  when  it 
was  the  Colony  of  Manhattan,  over  two  centuries  ago. 
In  the  horsemill  here  mentioned,  prayers  had  been  read 
for  seven  years  ;  then  it  was  vacated,  and  a  wooden 
church  built  on  the  shore  of  the  East  River,  in  Pearl 
street,  between  Whitehall  and  Broad  streets ;  and  near 
by  were  also  constructed  a  parsonage  and  stable.  We 
know  the  region  well,  for  it  is  the  place  of  our  own 
nativity — a  native-born  New  Yorker. 

In  1633,  the  Rev.  Everardus  Bogardus  arrived,  asso- 
ciating with  him  i\dam  Rolandsen  as  schoolmaster.  Ho 
organized  a  church  school,  which  has  been  handed  down 
to  the  present  day,  an  institution  of  great  good  to  Church 
and  State.  Do  the  Puritans  boast  of  their  early  minis- 
ters and  schools  of  education?  The  Dutch  of  New 
Amsterdam  share  the  same  honor.  A  horsemill  was 
built  as  early  as  1626,  and  a  tower  added,  in  which 
were  hung  the  Spanish  bells,  captured,  the  previous 
year,  by  the  West  India  Company's  fleet,  at  Porto 
Rico. 

The  Dutch  settlers  worshipped  in  tlie  frail  Pearl  street 
church  until  1642,  when  steps  were  taken  to  build  a 
new  edifice.  This  was  done  at  the  instigation  of  the 
celebrated  navigator  De  Vreis.  In  his  journal  he  says 
that,  dming  with  Governor  Kieft,  he  said  to  his  Excel- 
2 


18  EAllLIEST   CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YOIIK. 

lency:  "It  was  a  shame  that  the  English,  when  they 
visited  Manhattan,  saw  only  a  mean  barn,  in  which  we 
worshipped.  The  first  thing  they  built  in  New  Eng- 
land, after  their  dwelling-houses,  was  a  line  church. 
We  should  do  the  same."  A  new  church  followed, 
erected  within  the  fort  (the  present  battery).  "It  was  a 
shame  that  the  English,  who  had  such  tine  churches  in 
their  settlements,  should  see  them  worshipping  in  a 
mean  barn,  when  they  had  plenty  of  fme  wood,  and 
stone,  and  oj^ster- shells  for  lime,  at  their  very  doors." 

How  to  obtain  the  necessary  funds,  however,  was  now 
the  question.  Kieft  promised  to  advance  one  thousand 
guilders  on  the  company's  account,  and  De  Vreis  com- 
menced a  j)rivate  subscription  with  one  hundred  more ; 
but  these  sums  were  quite  insufficient,  when  a  little 
management  supplied  what  was  wanting.  A  daughter 
of  Dominie  Bogardus  was  to  be  married^  and  the  princi- 
l^al  citizens  were  invited  to  the  marriage.  In  the  midst 
of  the  bridal  festivities,  the  subscription-paper  was  in- 
troduced, when  the  guests  emulated  each  other  in  their 
donations  to  the  proposed  Avork.  John  and  Richard 
Ogden,  of  Stamford,  contracted  for  the  mason-work  at 
two  thousand  five  hundred  guilders,  with  a  bonus  of 
one  hundred  more,  should  the  work  prove  satisfactory. 
The  roof  was  covered  with  oaken  shingles,  then  called 
wooden  slates.  The  church  was  seventy-tAVO  feet  long, 
fift}^-t\v^o  wide,  and  sixteen  liigli.  In  its  front  wall,  on  a 
marble  slab,  was  tins  legend  : 

"An.  Dom.  MDCXLIL,  W.  Kieft,  Dir.  Gen.,  IIc4t  Dc  Gtmeenk  dese  Tcmpel 
doen  Boicen. — In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1G42,  W.  Kieft  beini^-  Director-General, 
has  this  congregation  caused  this  Temple  to  be  built." 


EAELIERT   CIITTRCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  19 

When  the  old  fort  cat  the  Battery  was  demolished,  in 
1790,  to  make  room  for  the  Government  House,  huilt 
on  the  spot,  this  stone  was  found  buried,  and  then  it 
was  removed  to  the  belfry  of  tlie  "Old  Garden  Street 
Church,"  where  it  was  preserved  until  both  were  de- 
stroyed, in  the  great  conflagration  of  1835.  The  writer 
well  remembers  that  terrible  night  and  fire,  as  he  stood 
on  the  flat  roof  of  a  lofty  store  adjoining,  and  beheld 
this  sacred  temple,  -with  hundreds  of  houses,  envel- 
oped in  the  unconquerable,  raging,  fiery  element.  The 
town-bell  of  Manhattan  was  removed  to  the  church  in 
the  fort,  where  its  tones  regulated  the  public  business 
of  the  city,  the  courts,  merry  peals  for  weddings,  the 
funeral  knell,  and  the  Sabbath  assemblages. 

The  old  church  in  the  fort  was  called  "  St.  Nicholas," 
in  honor  of  the  tutelary  and  guardian  saint  of  New 
Amsterdam  ;  and  here,  for  half  a  century,  from  1642  to 
1693,  the  early  Dutch  settlers  worshipx)ed  God.  We  add 
a  tabular  view  of  their  ministers,  in  regular  succession, 
as  obtained  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dewitt,  the  best  authority 
we  know  of  the  early  ecclesiastical  history  of  New 
Netherland : 

Everardiis  Bogardiis, from  1633  to  1G47 

Joaunes  Backerus "  1G48  to  1G49 

Joannes  Megapolensis  ....."  lC49tol690 

Samuel  Drissius "  1652  to  1671 

Samuel  Megapolensis "  1604  to  1688 

Willaelmus  Van  Nieuvenhuysen         .         .  "  IGTl  to  1681 

Henricus  Selyns "  1GS2  to  1701 

These  ministers,  it  is  said,  were  all  educated  in  the 
universities   of  Holland,   and  well  j)i'epared  for  tlieii 


20  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

important  work.  Dominie  Bogardus,  in  1C47,  took  pas- 
sage for  Holland,  to  meet  some  charges  against  him 
before  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam.  Governor  Kieft  em- 
barked in  the  same  vessel,  which  was  lost  at  sea,  all 
on  board  perishing.  Dominie  Backerus  came  from 
Curacoa,  and,  after  a  year  spent  here,  he  returned  to 
Holland.  Megapolensis  preached  at  Rensselaerwyck, 
now  Albany.  Samuel  Drissius  was  called  on  account 
of  his  knowledge  of  the  French  and  English  languages, 
that  he  might  minister  in  both  to  the  people.  He 
preached  once  a  month  to  the  French  Huguenots  on 
Staten  Island.  Samuel  Megapolensis,  the  son  of  the 
former-named,  returned  to  Holland  in  1668.  Selyns 
preached  at  Burckelen  (Brooklyn)  and  on  Governor 
Stuyvesant's  Bowerie,  or  farm.  He  went  back  to  Hol- 
land in  1664,  and,  during  1682,  was  called  to  St.  Nicholas 
Church.  Henricus  Selyns  was  the  most  distinguished 
dominie  who  came  from  Holland.  Yan  Nieuvenhuysen 
died  in  1681,  when  an  urgent  appeal  was  made  to 
Selyns,  and  he  became  pastor  from  1682  to  1689,  and 
died  in  1701.  He  gave  a  strong  and  happy  direction  to 
the  interests  of  the  church. 

The  literature  of  New  Amsterdam  was  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  our  day.  In  the  place  of  novels, 
romances,  magazines,  and  light  reading,  which  now  so 
often  fill  the  centre-tables,  tliere  was  to  be  found  little 
else  than  Bibles,  Testaments,  with  the  Psalm-Books ; 
still  every  family  possessed  these  household  volumes. 
The  matron's  Church  books  w^ere  generally  costly  bound, 
with  silver  clasps  and  edgings,  and  sometimes  of  gold ; 
and  these,  suspended  to  the  girdle  by  silver  or  gold 


EATILIEST   CHURCHES    IN    NEW    YORK.  21 

chains,   distinguislied   the   style   of  the   families  using 
them  on  Sabbath  days. 

Sunday,  in  'Ne^Y  Amsterdam,  was  better  observed 
than  by  'New  Yorkers  now.  All,  arrayed  in  their  best, 
attended  the  public  services  of  religion  ;  and  the  peoj^le, 
almost  exclusively  Calvinists,  ">vent  to"  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church.  The  ^'  Koeck,"  or  bell-ringer  and  sexton 
united,  was  an  important  officer  on  the  sacred  day,  sum- 
moning the  congregation  by  the  ringing  of  the  church- 
going  bell.  He  also  formed  a  procession  of  himself  and 
his  assistants,  to  carry  the  cushions  of  the  burgomasters 
and  schepens  from  the  City-hall  to  the  pews  appropri- 
ated to  these  officials.  At  the  same  time,  the  "  Schout" 
went  his  rounds,  to  see  that  quiet  was  kept  in  the  streets 
during  divine  worship,  and  also  to  stop  the  games  of  the 
negro  slaves  and  Indians,  to  whom  the  day  was  allowed 
for  recreation,  except  during  the  church  hours.  The 
Dutch  Church  was  then  locried  within  the  fort  at  the 
Battery,  and  the  present  Bowling  Green,  an  open  field, 
exhibited  many  country  wagons  arranged  in  proper 
order,  while  their  horses  were  permitted  to  graze  on 
the  hill-sides  which  led  down  to  the  Hudson  River. 

Soon  after  the  entrance  of  Dominie  Selyns  on  his  pas- 
toral duties  in  St.  Nicholas,  a  new  church  was  talked- 
of,  and  its  consistory  circulated  a  subscription  for  this 
object.  He  was  settled  in  1682  ;  and  Dr.  Dewitt  has  in 
his  possession  a  rare  curiosity— a  manuscript  volume  of 
the  Dominie's,  dated  1686,  the  Register  of  his  churcli 
members,  arranged  according  to  streets.  These  are 
b*elow  Wall  and  east  of  Broadway,  whilst  the  remaining 
families  are  placed  "along  shore,"  on  the  East  River 


22  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Mild  Governor  Stuyvesant's  Bowerie,  or  farm.  This 
volume,  doubtless,  was  the  guide  in  his  pastoral  visits, 
and  it  is  a  great  honor,  as  well  as  advantage,  to  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  that  its  Register  has  been 
carefully  continued  and  preserved  from  that  early  period 
until  the  present  time. 

Garden  street  was  then  thought  to  be  too  far  out  of 
town  for  a  new  church  ;  still  this  was  the  spot  chosen, 
and  the  deed  conveying  the  property  is  dated  in  the 
year  1690.  The  lot  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-live 
feet  in  front,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  deej),  and 
is  defined  as  adjacent  to  the  orchard  of  Elizabeth  Dris- 
sius,  the  widow  of  Dominie  Drissius.  What  changes ! 
Where  the  fruits  of  the  orchard  were  once  gathered, 
there  now  the  Jews,  with  the  brokers,  assemble  daily, 
to  win  and  to  lose  the  golden  fruits  of  California,  or  the 
paper  "greenbacks"  of  Uncle  Sam.  The  new  church 
was  opened  for  divine  servic(3  in  1693,  before  it  was 
entirely  finished,  and  cost  sixty-four  thousand  one  huri- 
dred  and  seventy-eight  guilders,  or  twenty- seven  tlion- 
sand  six  liundrt^d  and  seventy-one  dollars.  It  was  an 
oblong  square,  and  had  a  brick  steeple.  The  windows 
were  small  panes  of  glass  set  in  lead,  and,  according  to 
the  fashion  of  that  day,  many  of  them  had  the  coats-of- 
arms  of  the  elders  and  magistrates  curiously  burnt  on 
the  glass  b}^  a  Mr.  Gerard  Duykinck.  Other  armorial 
l)ictures  hung  on  the  walls,  and  this  sacred  edifice  was 
the  only  house  of  worship  for  our  Dutch  ancestors  in 
ISTew  York  until  the  erection  of  the  "Middle  Dutch," 
the  present  Post-office,  Nassau  str(^et.  When  this  last- 
named  was  occupied,  the  Garden  street  church  took  the 


EARLIEST   CHUEC'HES  IN   NEW   YORK.  23 

name  of  tlie  "Old  Dutcli,"  and  the  Nassau  the  "New;" 
and,  as  soon  as  that  on  William  and  Fulton  was  erected, 
it  was  called  the  "North,"  Garden  street  the  "South," 
and  Nassau  the  "Middle." 

There  is  a  head-stone  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  Lye  ye  Body  of  Peter  Van  Tilburgh,  aged  "76  years,  Dec.  ye  28,  1734. 
"  Earth  take  my  Earth, 
Satan  my  sin  I'll  leave ; 
The  World  my  Substance, 
Heaven  my  Soul."  '   ■ 

The  tradition  is,  that  the  old  gentleman,  who  must 
have  been  a  Dutchman,  gave  the  lot  on  which  Garden 
Street  Church  stood,  and  that  in  the  church  was  placed 
a  tablet  to  his  memory.^ 

In  1699,  the  Rev.  Gualterus  Dubois  was  associated 
with  Dominie  Selyns  —  two  years  before  his  death. 
Dubois  continued  in  the  pastoral  office  fifty-two  years, 
till  1751. 

When  the  Dutch  colony  was  transferred  to  the  Brit- 
ish, in  1664,  the  Avorship  of  the  Church  of  England  Avas, 
of  course,  introduced,  and  the  chaplain  of  the  British 
forces  conducted  public  services  in  the  old  Dutch 
church  at  the  fort.  There  was  a  very  friendly  feeling 
between  the  two  denominations,  as  their  always  should 
be  among  sincere  Christians  ;  and  when  Mr.  Vesey,  the 
first  rector,  arrived,  he  was  kindly  invited  to  hold  reli- 
gious worship  with  his  peo]Dle,  on  a  part  of  the  Sabbath, 
in  the  old  Garden  Street  Church.  When  he  was  induct- 
ed into  liis  sacred  office,  Governor  Fletcher  invited  two 

*  Librarian  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Sodety. 


24  EARLIEST   CIIUEOIJES   IN   NEW   TOIIK. 

of  the  Dutch  clergymen  to  be  present — Selyns,  of  New 
York,  and  Mucella,  from  Kingston.  For  more  unifor- 
mity, however,  in  our  subject,  we  shall  continue  the 
sketches  of  the  eaily  Reformed  Dutch  churches  before 
we  trace  those  of  tlie  other  denominations. 

In  1714,  the  Rev.  Henricus  Boel  became  the  colleague 
of  Dominie  Dubois,  and,  during  the  year  172G,  the  con- 
sistory resolved  to  erect  a  new  cliurch.  Five  hundred 
and  seventy-five  pounds  were  paid  for  a  lot  on  Nassau 
street  at  the  time,  directly  north  of  the  Huguenot 
Church,  near  by,  in  Pine.  The  length  of  the  new 
edifice  was  one  hundred  feet,  and  breadth  seventy, 
with  tower  at  the  north  end  ;  and  it  was  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  the  Alraiglity  in  1729.  At  first,  it  had  no 
galleries,  and  the  ceiling  was  one  entire  arch,  without 
pillars.  There  were  important  changes  madt'  in  the 
interior,  after  the  introduction  of  Englisli  preaching, 
during  1784.  The  galleries  were  erected,  and  tlie  pulpit 
removed  from  the  east  to  the  north  end  of  the  building. 
Its  outlines  are  still  preserved,  particularly  its  turret 
and  steeple,  calling  up,  in  the  minds  of  our  oldest  citi- 
zens, many  interesting  and  impressive  remembrances. 
The  face  and  hands  of  its  venerable  clock  are  there, 
which,  so  many  years,  regulated  the  time  movements 
"down  town."  But  they  have  long  since  ceased  to 
point  out  the  fleeting  hours  and  moments.  We  have 
often  wondered  why  the  Government  did  not  wind  up 
the  venerable  regulator,  and  again  set  its  pendulum  in 
useful  motion.  Devoted,  as  the  edifice  now  is,  to  the 
regulation  and  immense  aansportation  of  our  nation's 
mails,  it  seems  most  x)roxH^r  that  our  New  York  Post- 


EAllLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  25 

office  should  have  such  u  public  time-piece.  Day  and 
night  a  watchman  stands  in  the  helfiy,  on  the  look-out 
for  fires,  and  a  faithful  city  clock  would  be,  as  it  were, 
a  faithful  companion  to  his  vigilant,  solitary  hours. 

For  years  after  the  erection  of  the  "Middle  Dutch," 
the  preaching  was  entirely  in  Dutch  ;  still,  the  Avant  of 
English  services  was  felt  by  very  many  of  the  con- 
gregation. All  the  public  business  was  transacted  in 
this  language ;  intermarriages  between  the  English  and 
Dutch  families  were  constantly  increasing,  and  the  Eng- 
lish was  daily  becoming  the  common  tongue.  In  1761, 
a  petition  from  the  majority  of  the  congregation  was 
presented  to  the  consistory,  urging  the  introduction  of 
English  preaching.  The  older  members  of  the  church 
at  once  violently  opposed  the  measure  ;  still,  in  1763,  a 
large  majority  of  the  consistory  called  the  Rev.  Archi- 
bald Laidlie,  minister  of  the  Scotch  Reformed  Church 
at  Flushing,  Holland.  He  reached  New  York  in  1764, 
when  some  of  the  opponents  to  English  preaching  com- 
menced a  suit  in  the  civil  courts,  which  was  decided 
against  them.  This  opposition  seems  very  strange  to  us 
now,  but  we  must  not  forget  how  deep  in  the  human 
mind  is  the  attachment  to  old  associations,  customs,  and 
even  language. 

When  the  "Middle  Dutch"  was  erected,  the  ministers 
officiating  in  Dutch  were  Dominies  Ritzema  and  De 
Ronde — the  one  settled  in  1744,  the  other  in  1751.  Dr. 
Laidlie  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  there  thoroughly 
educated.  Living  some  years  in  Holland,  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  Dutch  language  ;  and  kind,  concili- 
ating in  his  spirit,  he  gradually  disarmed  the  opposition 


26  /EAllLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOKK. 

which  existed  Avhcn  he  first  came  to  New  York.  He 
was,  too,  a  powerful  evangelical  preacher.  When  the 
British  took  possession  of  New  York  he  retired  to  Red 
Hook,  where  he  ceased  from  his  earthly  labors  in  1778. 
During  his  ministry  of  but  a  few  years  in  the  Middle 
Dutch  Church,  he  used  the  English  language  on  parts 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  large  edifice  soon  was  filled. 

At  this  period,  1766,  the  Old  South' Church  in  Garden 
street  was  thoroughly  repaired,  and  the  necessity  of 
another  and  third  house  of  worship  was  felt.  Accord- 
ingly, in  Juno,  1767,  the  consistory  resolved  that  "the 
church  should  be  erected  on  the  grounds  of  Mr.  Har- 
pending ;  that  it  sliould  be  one  hundred  feet  in  length 
and  seventy  in  breadth,  and  should  front  Horse  and 
Cart  Lane  (William  street),  and  be  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  lot."  Mr.  John  Harbendinck,  as  he  wrote  his 
name,  was  an  aged  and  excellent  member  of  the  church, 
and  gave  the  lots  for  the  new  edifice.  He  died  in  1772, 
at  a  very  advanced  age,  leaving  no  children,  and  was  a 
liberal  benefactor  to  the  Dutch  Church,  both  in  life  and 
death.  Directly  back  of  the  pulpit  of  this  church  con- 
spicuously hangs  a  coat-of-arms,  commemorative  of  this 
Christian  man.  Its  motto  is:  "-Dando  Conservat" 
(by  giving,  it  is  secured) — a  true  sentiment — for  the  best 
way  of  securing  our  property  is  b}'  devoting  it  to  good 
purposes.  AYe  tliink  it  doubtful  whether  this  was  really 
his  coat-of-arms,  but  ratlier  a  design  by  the  church  to 
commemorate  his  liberality.  At  first,  the  painting  was 
placed  in  the  Garden  Street  Church,  and  then  removed 
to  the  "North  Dutch,''  where  it  still  hangs.  It  is  a  relic 
of  the  "olden  tim.e,"  now  one  hundred  years  old,  and 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  27 

well  worthy  of  preservation.  Mr.  Harbending  was  a 
tanner  and  currier,  and  tliis  armorial  has  painted  on  it 
the  implements  belonging  to  his  trade. 

The  "North  Dutch"  cost  tw^elve  thousand  pounds 
(sixty  thousand  dollars),  and  is  a  noble  stone  edifice, 
now  venerable  in  years  cind  associations.  Upon  the 
caj)ital  of  each  pillar  are  engraved  the  initials  of  those 
who  donated  them  and  gave  subscriptions  also.  Isaac 
Eoosevelt,  one  of  the  elders,  laid  the  corner-stone,  July, 
1767,  and  Dr.  Laidlie  preached  the  dedication  sermon  on 
May  25,  1769.  This  church  was  erected  more  especially 
for  English  preaching  and  services,  and  an  additional 
preacher  became  necessary,  when  John  H.  Livingston, 
in  after  years  so  well  known  as  the  venerable  Dr.  Liv- 
ingston, was  called  to  this  pious  field  of  labor  in  1770. 
He  was  eminently  useful  and  universally  loved  during 
a  long  life. 

When  the  war  of  the  American  Revolution  broke  out, 
this  congregation  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence, and  consequently  was  scattered  about  the 
neighboring  country.  Whilst  the  British  possessed  the 
city,  several  churches,  whose  members  had  espoused 
the  side  of  freedom,  were  abused  and  desecrated,  and 
especially  the  Middle  and .  North  Dutch.  The  former 
was  used  as  a  prison,  and  afterwards  for  a  riding- 
school  of  the  British  cavalry,  witnessing  great  dissij)a- 
tion  and  profanity ;  its  galleries  were  destroyed,  leaving 
the  bare  walls  and  roof.  In  the  North  Dutch  there 
was  a  hospital ;  pews  and  pulpit  w^ere  torn  down,  and 
its  walls  defaced.  Nor  can  we  proj)erly  pass  by  the 
well-known  cruelties  and   outrages  committed  by  the 


28  EAllLIEST   CIIUr.CHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

British  soldiers  wliilst  in  our  city.  Tlui  churches,  the 
Old  Sugar  House  in  Liberty  street,  the  Jail,  and  the 
prison-ships,  were  memorials  of  these  atrocities  ;  the}' 
became  the  abodes  of  cruelty,  where  thousands  of  patri- 
otic Americans  i)erished,  victims  to  hunger,  cruelty, 
disease,  and  death.  Many  of  their  bleached  bones,  col- 
lected from  Long  Island,  liave  been  buried  in  old  Trinity 
Churchyard.  Gratitude  to  the  noble  band  of  native 
Americans  who  have  there  erected  the  splendid  mauso- 
leum over  these  remains ! 

Just  before  the  Revolution  a  new  and  beautiful  pulpit 
had  been  placed  in  the  North  Dutch  Church,  which 
mysteriously  disappeared  some  time  afterwards,  and  no 
traces  of  it  could  be  discovered.  After  the  close  of  the 
war,  however,  one  of  our  citizens,  visiting  a  country 
church  in  England,  saAV  in  its  pulpit  tlie  striking  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  North  Dutch.  A  gentleman  present 
remarked  that  it  was  probably  the  same,  for  it  liad  been 
brought  from  America  in  a  British  ship  ! 

Peace  was  concluded  with  England  in  1783.  The  enemy 
left  the  city  on  the  25th  day  of  November,  which  has  since 
annually  been  celebrated  as  ' '  Evacuation  Day. ' '  Gladly 
the  citizens  again  returned  to  their  liresides  and  altars,  after 
a  tedious  exile  of  seven  years,  and,  with  faith  and  j)rayer, 
began  to  build  the  waste  places  of  their  beloved  Zions, 
The  venerable  Dominies  Ritzema  and  De  Ronde,  who  had 
preached  in  Dutch,  preferred  to  remain  where  they  had 
soj ourned.  These  were  consecpiently  declared ' '  emeriti^ ' ' 
with  a  suitable  annuity  for  life  from  the  consistory.  Dr. 
Livingston  was  now  the  only  Dutch  Reformed  minister 
in  the  city,  and  the  "Old  Garden  Street  Church,"  having 


EARLIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  29 

escaped  tlie  damages  of  the  war,  was  at  once  used  for 
divine  service.  The  "North"  was  repaired  and  again 
opened  to  God's  worship  in  December,  1784,  and  the 
"Middle  Dutch"  on  July  4th,  1790— Dr.  Livingston  de- 
livering a  suitable  discourse. 

There  is  a  notice  of  this  discourse  written  in  an  old 
Dutch  Bible  belonging  to  .  the  New  Jerse}^  Historical 
Society:  "The  first  sermon  that  the  Hev.  Mr.  John 
Livingston  preached  after  joining  his  congregation  after 
the  war,  in  the  Old  Dutch  Church,  was  taken  out  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  124  Psalm,  the  whole  Psalm,  in  Decem- 
ber 7,  1783,  in  the  forenoon. 

"Also,  the  first  sermon  Mr.  De  Ronde  preached  after 
joining  his  congregation  after  the  war,  in  the  Old  Dutch 
Church,  was  taken  out  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  ;  34  Psalm 
and  the  4  verse,  in  December  7,  1783,  in  the  afternoon. 

"On  Tuesday,  the  25th  day  November,  that  ever-mem- 
orable day  the  American  army  took  possession  of  the 
city.  General  Washington  and  Governor  Clinton  entered, 
when  the  same  day,  that  day,  civil  government  took 
place.  ""^^ 

Dr.  Livingston  was  now  left  alone  in  his  ministerial 
work,  his  labors  highly  acceptable  and  greatly  blessed 
by  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church.  Occasionally  he 
preached  in  Dutch  to  the  old  people.  More  ministe- 
rial aid  was  wanted,  when  the  services  of  Dr.  William 
Linn,  from  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  were  obtained.  He 
became  a  finished  writer  and  a  powerful  jDulpit  orator. 
His  health  failing,  he  retired  to  Albany  in  1805,  where  he 
died  in  1808.     The  Rev.  Gerardus  A.  Kuypers,  after- 

*  From  a  letter  of  the  "Librarian"  to  the  author. 


30  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

"wards  Dr.  Knypers,  succeeded  liim.  He  was  an  accu- 
rate scholar,  j^reacliing  in  Dutch,  at  the  Garden  Street 
Church,  to  those  preferring  that  Language.  But  the  num- 
bers of  such  became  fewer,  until  his  last  sermon  to  them 
was  delivered  in  1803. 

In  1795  Dr.  John  N.  Abeel  was  called  as  a  colleague 
minister,  and  the  choice  was  eminently  happy.  His 
Gospel  labors  were  accepted  and  blessed,  and  he  was 
sometimes  called  "the  beloved  disciple,  Jolin.^''  He 
died  in  early  manhood,  during  the  year  1812,  and  amidst 
increasing  usefulness. 

Dr.  Livingston,  resigning  his  pastoral  charge  at  ISTew 
York  in  1810,  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Queen' s  Col- 
lege, New  Brunswick,  with  also  a  Theological  Professor- 
ship. He  continued  faithfully  to  discharge  these  impor- 
tant duties  to  the  very  end  of  his  life,  in  January,  1825, 
lecturing  to  his  classes  on  the  day  before  his  death  with 
unusual  spirit  and  impressiveness.  AVith  benedictions 
on  his  family,  he  retired  ;  but,  at  the  usual  hour  of  fam- 
ily devotions,  the  next  morning,  he  was  found  in  his 
chamber,  calmly  resting  in  the  arms  of  death.  II(^  had 
gently  fallen  asleep  in  Christ,  aged  seventy-nine,  ripe  in 
years,  labors,  and  piety. 

In  the  year  1813,  the  Rev.  Philip  Milledoler  became 
one  of  the  collegiate  ministers,  and  few,  if  any,  were 
more  beloved  or  successful  in  their  holy  work.  On  the 
death  of  Dr.  Livingston,  in  1825,  lie  was  chosen  his  suc- 
cessor, assiduously  discharging  his  new  duties  for  a  few 
years,  when  he  resign(»d  on  account  of  advancing  years. 
He  died  on  his  birthday,  in  September,  1832,  aged  sev- 
enty-seven years — his  excellent  wife  following  him  to  the 


EARLIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  31 

heavenly  rest  the  next  day.  They  were  bnried  from 
the  North  Dutch  Church  at  the  same  time,  and  occupy 
the  same  tomb  in  Greenwood  Cemetery.  We  well 
remember  the  impressive  and  solemn  ceremonies  of  that 
occasion. 

To  preserve  a  clear  connection  of  our  subject,  we  must 
refer  necessarily  to  more  modern  times  and  men.  In  the 
year  1813,  the  old  church  in  Garden  street  formed  a  con- 
sistory of  their  own,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Matthews  was  cho- 
sen their  pastor,  and,  when  this  church  was  destroyed  by 
the  great  fire  in  1835,  two  new  ones  arose  from  it.  One, 
retaining  the  original  corporate  character,  located  itself 
in  Murray  street,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev. 
J.  M.  McAuley,  1838 ;  but,  in  a  few  years,  the  congregation 
erected  and  occupied  the  beautiful  white  marble  edifice 
on  Fifth  avenue  and  Twenty-first  street.  The  second 
church  from  this  division  is  the  noble  structure  fronting 
Washington  Square  and  adjoining  the  University.  Drs. 
Matthews  and  Hutton  were  then  its  pastors.     (1837.) 

When  Dr.  Linn  retired,  in  1805,  more  ministerial  help 
was  needed  for  the  Collegiate  charges— the  North,  the 
Middle,  and  the  South  Dutch  Churches.  Accordingly, 
in  1809,  the  Rev.  John  Schureman,  with  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Broadhead  (afterwards  D.  D.'s),  were  called,  and  were 
highly  acceptable.  Soon,  however,  in  1811,  Dr.  Schure- 
man accepted  a  professorship  in  Queen' s  College,  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  ended  a  useful  life  (1818)  in  his 
fortieth  year,  and  lamented  by  all.  In  1813,  Dr.  Broad- 
head  took  charge  of  a  new  congregation  in  Philadel- 
phia—the first  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  formed 
there.    With  tlie  divine  blessing,  he  gathered  a  large  au- 


32  EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEAV   YOEK. 

cllcnice,  continuing  to  labor  among  them  until  1826,  when 
he  again  returned  to  New  York,  taking  cliai'ge  of  the 
church  in  Broome  street.  Here  he  preached  witli  suc- 
cess till  1837,  when  the  health  of  his  family  led  him  to  a 
country  charge,  and  afterwards  he  was  pastor  of  the 
Central  Reformed  Butch  Church  in  Brooklyn.  He  died 
in  June,  1855,  aged  seventy-four  years,  greatly  heloved 
and  honored. 

When  Dr.  Broadhead  removed  to  Pliiladelphia,  Drs. 
Milledoler  and  Ku3^pers  were  left  to  sustain  the  whole 
charge  of  the  Collegiate  Churches — the  Middle  and  the 
North — and  the  necessity  of  more  ministerial  aid  was 
strongly  felt.  This  was  procured  in  the  spring  of  1816, 
and  the  Rev.  John  Knox,  with  Paschal  N.  Strong,  were 
called,  and  installed  in  July  following.  They  were  both 
students  from  the  Theological  Seminary  under  the  charge 
of  the  eloquent  Dr.  Mason.  Mr.  Strong  was  a  gifted 
preacher,  and  fond  hopes  were  entertained  of  his  long 
remaining  a  faitlilul  watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion. 
But,  a  subject  of  pulmonary  disease,  in  the  fall  of  1824 
he  sought  to  benefit  his  health  by  visiting  Santa  Cruz, 
and  there  he  ended  his  pilgrimage,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
two.  Over  his  remains,  in  that  sunny  isle,  his  consistory 
erected  a  j)roper  monument.  Dr.  Knox  then  became 
the  senior  j)astor,  and,  after  nearly  half  a  century's 
untiring  labors,  a  few  years  ago  he  suddenly  terminated 
them  by  a  fatal  fall  from  his  porch.  Dr.  Knox,  Dr. 
Berrian,  and  Dr.  Spring,  were  the  only  three  clergymen 
in  New  York  who  had  reached  the  sam(^  length  of  years 
in  their  respective  churches  ;  the  last-named  and  vener- 
able man  of  God  alone  remains  on  the  earth.     With  all 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  33 

three  of  them,  their  churches  in  this  city  were  their  first 
settlement  in  the  Christian  ministry,  and  where  they 
always  labored. 

When  Dr.  Milledoier  removed  to  New  Brunswick,  a 
call  was  made,  in  1826,  upon  Dr.  William  C.  Brownlee. 
He  was  born,  educated,  and  licensed  for  the  ministry,  in 
Scotland.  At  the  time  he  was  chosen  to  the  Collegiate 
Church  he  was  Professor  of  Languages  in  Rutgers'  Col- 
lege. He  soon  became  an  eminent  writer  and  preacher, 
with  the  prospect  of  long  continuing  in  the  Lord' s  vine- 
yard ;  but  he  was  an  illustration  of  the  impressive  truth, 
that  "in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death."  Li  the  per- 
fect enjoyment  of  health  and  intellect,  in  a  moment  he 
was  prostrated  by  paralysis  ;  but,  through  God' s  good- 
ness, partiallj-  recovered  from  the  severe  stroke,  without 
being  able  to  resume  active  duties,  and  entered  his  rest 
on  high  in  February,  1860. 

Dr.  De  Witt  w^as  settled  in  the  ministry  of  the  Colle- 
giate Churches  in  1827,  Dr.  Vermilye  in  1839,  Dr.  Cham- 
bers in  1849 — ministers  who  have  secured  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  their  people,  with  the  whole  community. 
But  it  is  not  our  intention  to  write  about  the  living, 
except  as  is  necessary  for  our  immediate  purposes.  In 
1836,  the  consistory  of  the  Associate  Dutch  Churches  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  the  new  sacred  temple  in  Lafayette 
Place,  and  it  was  dedicated  May  9th,  1839. 

There  was  no  church  edifice  in  our  city,  around  which 
so  many  recollections  and  associations  gathered,  as  the 
old  "Middle  Dutch  ;"'  but  the  time  at  last  arrived  when 
it  must  be  vacated,  from  the  increasing  commerce,  and 
the  removal  of  the  citizens  "up-town.''  On  the  11th  of 
3 


34  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   11^   NEW   YORK. 

August,  1844,  tlie  seuior  pastor,  Dr.  Knox,  preached  the 
last  sermon  Avithin  its  hallowed  and  venerable  walls. 
His  text  was,  John  v.  20-24:  ^'For  the  Father  lovetli 
the  Son,"  &c.  Dr.  De  Witt,  one  of  the  colleagues,  fol- 
lowed with  the  apostolical  benediction  in  the  Dutch 
language,  the  same  in  which  its  sacred  worship  and 
services  had  been  here  commenced,  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  years  before. 

On  the  lltli  of  October,  1854,  the  splendid  edifice  at 
the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twenty-ninth  street  was 
dedicated  to  Almighty  God.  The  title  of  the  "Middle 
Reformed  Dutch  Church"  has  been  given  to  the  edifice 
on  Lafayette  Place — a  sacred  name,  associated  with  so 
many  pleasant  and  impressive  reminiscences,  and  now 
very  proper  from  its  relative  position.  In  Fidton  street 
still  stands  the  North  Church,  and  between  this  and 
the  Fifth  Avenue  edifice  is  the  Lafayette,  or  "Middle" 
Dutch.  These  three  are  now  the  houses  of  worship 
forming  the  Collegiate  Chui'cli. 

We  have  sketclied  more  fully  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Churches  in  New  York,  because  they  were  more  numer- 
ous, and  more  properly  belong  to  the  "olden  time." 
To  the  names  alread}^  mentioned,  add  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Talbot' s,  and  onr  list  is  complete  of  the  ministers  of  this 
venerable  church — from  Dominie  Bogardus,  in  the  year 
1638,  to  Mr.  Chambers,  in  1849.  Dr.  A^^rmilye  was 
called  to  the  city  in  1839,  where  he  is  universally  re- 
spected, and  still  spared  to  preach  Christ. 

Outward  appearances  have  changed  some  betAveen 
our  present  costly  and  magnificent  temjDles  of  the  Lord 
and  the  humble  early  Dutch  churches  ;   but  the  same 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  35 

Bible  and  the  same  pure  Faitli  remain  nnclianged,  and 
so  will  remain  to  the  end  of  time  ! 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Ave  are  speaking  of  the 
oldest  denomination  in  America,  and  organized  as  early 
as  the  year  1620.  For  a  long  time  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  retained  its  distinctive  customs,  and  even  lan- 
guage, and  of  the  former  some  were  peculiar.  Unlike 
the  plainly  attired  Puritan,  the  Dutch  dominies  always 
appeared  in  their  high  circular  pulpits  with  black  silk 
gowns  and  large  flowing  sleeves.  This  sacred  robe 
seemed  indispensable ;  and  it  is  related  that,  at  tlie  in- 
stallation of  an  early  minister,  who  was  not  j)repared 
with  such  a  garment,  the  presiding  clergyman  refused 
to  officiate.  Fortunately  for  the  candidate,  a  kind  min- 
ister supplied  his  need,  or  the  ceremonies  would  have 
been  postponed. 

All  the  pulpits  had  heavy  sounding-boards,  and  the 
Psalms  of  the  day  set  in  movable  figures,  either  upon 
the  sides  of  the  sacred  desk  or  the  church.  The  clerk 
occupied  a  little  pew  or  box  by  himself,  in  front  of  the 
pulpit,  prefacing  the  morning  services  by  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and,  during  the  afternoon,  the  x^postles' 
Creed.  He  received  from  the  sexton  all  the  notices  to 
be  read,  and  then  placing  them  at  the  end  of  a  long 
pole,  they  were  thus  passed  up  to  the  dominie  for  pub- 
lication. There  were  no  church  clocks  then,  and  the 
hour-glass  supplied  their  place,  which  was  placed  in- 
variably at  the  right-hand  of  the  preacher.  It  was  the 
clerk' s  duty,  too,  when  the  last  grains  of  the  sand  had 
run  out,  to  remind  him  that  the  time  to  end  the  sermon 
had  come,  by  three  raps  of  his  can(\     An  amusing  story 


36  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOIJK. 

is  relat(^d  of  a  (lomiiii(%  wh(3,  seeing  his  clerk  asleep, 
witli  the  peoph^i  drowsy,  on  a  warm  summer's  day, 
quietly  turned  the  emptied  glass  up  again.  Then,  after 
its  sands  had  disajopeared  a  second  time,  he  lemarked 
to  his  hearers  that,  as  they  had  been  so  patiently  sitting 
through  two  glasses,  he  would  now  go  on  with  the  third. 
I  have  seen  the  "old  pulpit"  of  the  earliest  Dutch  cliurch 
in  Albany.  It  was  imported  from  Holland,  is  a  great 
curiosity,  and  still  there  carefully  preserved ;  and  among 
its  fixtures  are  those  of  such  a  primitive  time-piece. 
Just  before  ascending  the  pulpit,  the  Butch  dominie 
raised  liis  hat  before  his  face,  and  silently  offered  a  short 
prayer  for  a  blessing  on  his  coming  labors.  Then,  when 
he  had  })iT>nounced  the  last  word  of  his  text,  and  before 
the  sermon  began,  he  exclaimed:  "Thus  far!"  This 
custom  is  said  still  to  be  preserved  in  some  country 
churches.  The  discourse  finished,  the  deacons  rose  in 
their  seats,  went  to  the  altar,  listened  to  a  brief  address 
from  the  preacher,  when  they  attended  to  the  public 
collection.  Each  carried  a  long  pole  with  a  black  velvet 
bag  at  the  end,  to  which  was  attached  a  little  bell.  One 
of  these  bells,  from  the  "olden  time,"  and  used  in  the 
early  Garden  Street  Church,  has  been  carefully  x^i*^- 
served  in  our  city.  Once  little  iron-bound  boxes  were 
placed  near  the  doors  of  the  churches  for  the  alms  of  the 
people,  and  such  are  still  used  in  Trinity. 

There  is  an  interesting  chronicle  about  the  earliest 
church  bells  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  churches.  The 
legend  on  the  one  of  the  "Old  St.  Nicholas,"  at  the 
Battery,  was  :  '■'•Didcwr  nostris  tmmtilnts  resonat  aer. 
P.  Ilenomy  me  fecit.    1G74."    Thence  it  was  transferred 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  37 

to  tli(3  Crrarden  Street  Cliiircli  in  1807.  Some  thought  it 
too  small  for  modern  times  and  fashion ;  but  Mr.  Benson, 
one  of  the  elders,  insisted  upon  retaining  the  faithful  okl 
sentinel,  as  it  came  from  HoUand,  and  was  the  first  one 
used  in  the  colony  of  ISTew  Netherlands,  At  last,  with 
the  church,  both  were  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1835. 
The  bell  of  the  "Old  Middle  Dutch"  Avas  presented  by 
Colonel  Abraham  De  Peyster,  at  that  time  a  prominent 
citizen.  Whilst  the  sacred  edifice  was  building,  in  1728, 
he  died,  directing  in  his  will  that  a  bell  should  be  pro- 
cured from  Holland  for  its  steeple.  It  was  cast  at 
Amsterdam,  1731,  and  it  is  said  that  a  number  of  citizens 
there  threw  in  pieces  of  silver  coin  in  the  preparation  of 
the  metal.     This  is  its  legend : 

"Me  fecerunt  De  Giara  et  N.  MuUer,  Amsterdam,  Anno  1631.  Abraham  De 
Peyster,  gcboren  (born)  deu  8  July,  1657,  gestorven  (died)  den  8  Augustus,  1728. 

"  Ecn  legaat  aan  de  Nederduytsche  Kerke,  Neuw  York."  (A  legacy  to  the 
Low  Dutch  Church  at  New  York.) 

Here  the  bell  remained  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
until  the  church  was  vacated  and  became  the  city  post- 
ofiice ;  then  it  was  removed  to  the  Ninth  Street  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  and  afterwards  to  the  beautiful  edi- 
fice, Lafayette  Place.  There  it  still  rings  it^  silvery 
tones,  inviting  the  people  to  the  Lord' s  house,  as  it  has 
sounded  for  generations  long  past. 

The  lather  of  the  late  John  Outhout,  Esq.,  states,  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Frederick  De  Peyster,  this  interesting  fact : 
Early  in  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  when  the  British 
converted  the  "Middle  Dutch"  into  a  dragoon  riding- 
school,  his  father  obtained  permission  from  Lord  Howe 
to  remove  this  bell.  It  was  then  stored  in  a  secret  place 
until  the  enemy  had  evacuated  the  city,  when  it  was 


38  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

restored  to  its  i^ormer  and  rightful  position.  For  its  size 
and  clear,  far-sounding  tones,  it  is  one  of  the  finest  ever 
cast,  and  during  very  many  long  years  was  called  the 
"Firemen's  Bell."  It  became  a  general  favorite  with 
them,  springing  to  their  im^^ortant  work  and  duty  at  its 
well-known  signal  of  alarm. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IjST   NEW   YORK.  39 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE      DUTCH      EARLY     INTRODUCED      SCHOOLS      IN     NEW     AMSTERDAM — 

EVERT      PIETERSEN,      THE      ZIEKENTROOSTER SCHOOLHOUSE      BUILT 

CHILDREN      PUBLICLY      CATECHISED NEW      AMSTERDAM     BECOMES 

NEW    YORK THE    SCHOOL    CONTINUED     AS    USUAL,    BUT    BROKEN    UP 

FOR     A    TIME      BY     GOVERNOR     CORNBURY SCHOOLHOUSE     ERECTED 

ON     GARDEN    STREET CONTINUED     THREE-QUARTERS    OF    A    CENTURY 

ENGLISH     INTRODUCED     IN     THE     PUBLIC     RELIGIOUS     SERVICES 

"  SONS    OF    liberty" AMERICAN    PRISONERS     IN    THE     CHURCHES 

GREAT    FIRE     OF    l776 SCHOOL     REOPENED    AFTER    THE     PEACE     OF 

17S3 NEW    SCHOOLHOUSE    BUILT    IN    1847. 

Greatly  to  tlieir  honor,  the  Dutch  have  long  been  dis- 
tinguished for  their  efforts  to  educate  the  young.  Every- 
where schools  were  established,  at  the  public  expense,  to 
teach  their  youth  the  catechism  and  articles  of  Religion/- 

When  the  West  India  Company  first  began  the  work 
of  colonization  in  America,  it  bound  itself  to  maintain 
among  the  settlers  good  and  fit  preachers,  schoolmasters, 
and  comforters  of  the  sick.f  Thus,  the  founders  of  JN'ew 
Amsterdam  <*ncouraged  religion  and  learning ;  and  we 
find  in  tlie  earliest  records  accounts  of  the  establishment 
of  schools  at  Fort  Orange,  Flatbush,  Fort  Casimer,  and 
other  settlements.  The  colony  on  the  Delaware,  JN'ew 
Amstel,  furnishes  an  exam]3le.  With  the  emigrants, ' '  the 
city  of  Amsterdam"  promised  "to  send  a  person  proper 
for  schoolmaster,  who  shall  also  read  the  holy  Scriptures 
in  public,  and  set  the  psalm."     Accordingly,  "Evert 

*  Broadhead,  i.,  4G2.  f  Coll.  N.  Netherlands,  i.,  220. 


40  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Pietersen,  who  had  been  approved,  after  examination 
before  the  chassis,  as  schoohnaster  and  zielientrooster," 
"was  appointed  to  "read  God's  Word  and  lead  in  sing- 
ing." No  colony,  however  far  east  we  may  travel,  was 
ever  organized  under  religious  auspices  more  favorable 
to  its  future  prosperity.  A  few  months  afterwards, 
Dominie  Everardus  Welius,  with  four  hundred  new  emi- 
grants, arrived,  when  the  same  Pietersen  was  appointed 
"  fore- singer,  ziekentrooster,  and  deacon."  The  like 
course  was  pursued  on  the  settlement  of  Manhattan.  In 
1626,  as  soon  as  the  colonial  government  was  founded  by 
Kieft,  the  first  Director-General,  Sebastian  Jans  Crol,  with 
Jan  Huyck,  two  ziekentrooster s^  or  "comforters  of  the 
sick,"  to  a  certain  extent  supplied  the  place  of  a  clergy- 
man. In  1633,  AVouter  Van  Twiller,  the  second  director 
of  New  Netherlands,  arrived,  when  Everardus  Bogardus 
became  the  officiating  "Dominie"  at  Fort  Amsterdam, 
with  Adam  Roelandsen,  the  first  schoolmaster."^' 

Here,  then,  according  to  Dutch  custom,  we  discover 
the  first  schoolmaster  in  Manhattan,  who  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  school  which  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  reli- 
giously maintains  to  this  hour.  The  earliest  church 
edifice  of  New  Netherlands  was  a  plain  Avooden  building, 
on  the  present  Broad  street,  between  Bridge  and  Pearl. 
In  1642,  this  building  becoming  dilapidated,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  procure  a  new  one,  with  the  erection  also 
of  a  schoolhouse.  An  old  chronicle  says:  "The  bowl 
has  been  going  round  a  long  time  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  money  for  erecting  a  schoolhouse."  Jan 
Cornelissen  is  mentioned  as  the  second  teacher  in  the 

*  All).  Rcc,  i.,  52. 


Old  South  Church  in  Garden  Stkeet. 
Built  16!)3. 


EAllLIEST  CnUKOIIES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  41 

Manliattan  Cliurcli  school ;  tlie  third,  William  Yestens  ; 
and,  in  1655,  he  was  succeeded  by  Harmanus  Van  Ho- 
boocken,  as  chorister  and  schoolmaster,  at  "g.  (guild- 
ers) thirty -five  per  month,  and  g.  one  hundi-ed  expendi- 
tures. "'•• 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  were  others,  at 
this  period,  teaching  private  seminaries ;  and  about 
1652,  John  De  La  Montague  conducted  a  second  church 
school,  with  a  salary  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  guilders. 
This  continued,  however,  a  brief  period  only,  Vestens 
uninterruptedly  continuing  his  institution  from  1650  to 
1655.  The  schoolmaster,  ex  officio^  was  always  clerk, 
beadle,  or  chorister,  and  visitor  of  the  sick,  f 

In  the  year  1661,  Evert  Pietersen,  who  had  left  the 
settlement  of  New  Amstel  and  come  to  New  Amsterdam, 
became  the  teacher  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  school, 
and  he  was  the  sixth.  Van  Hoboocken  then  was 
schoolmaster  somewhere  on  the  Bowerie.  Governor 
Fish  thinks  that  his  sclioolhouse  stood  where  the  present 
Tompldns  Market  has  been  located.  It  is  well  known 
what  provision  Governor  Stuyvesant  made  for  his 
colored  people  ;  and  it  is  very  probable  that  Yan  Ho- 
boocken had  these  under  his  instruction.  In  the  year 
1664,  Pietersen  still  schoolmaster,  the  Director-General 
issued  an  edict,  requiring,  as  long  the  custom  in  the 
fatherland,  "the  public  catechising  of  the  children." 
This  is  among  the  good  old  fashions  of  the  olden  time 
greatly  to  be  desired  in  our  day.  Pietersen  and  Yan 
Hoboocken  were  commanded  by  the  civil  ordinance  to 
apjjear   "on  Wednesday,  before  the  beginning  of  the 

*  Alb.  Rec.  XXV.,  133.  f  Watson's  Annals,  1G6. 


42  EABLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

sermon,  with  tlie  children  intnisted  to  their  care,  after 
the  close  of  the  sermon,  in  the  presence"  of  the  reverend 
ministers  and  elders,  who  may  there  be  present,"  and 
thus  be  examined  "on  what  they,  in  the  course  of  the 
week,  do  remember  of  the  Cliristian  commands  and  cate- 
chism, and  what  progress  they  have  made  ;  after  wluch 
the  children  shall  be  allowed  a  decent  recreation." 

"Done  in  Amsterdam,  New  Netherland,  this  17th 
March,  1661,  by  the  Director-General  and  Council.  "'- 

We  have  thus  traced  this  church  school  through  its 
Dutch  colonial  history  ;  about  three  years  after  this, 
however,  on  March  12tli,  1664,  an  event  transpired  in 
England,  which  soon  was  to  change  the  name,  govern- 
ment, and  destiny  of  New  Amsterdam,  now  containing  a 
population  of  fifteen  hundred  souls.  On  that  day, 
James  II.  granted  to  liis  brother,  the  Duke  of  York  and 
Albany,  the  territory  between  the  Connecticut  and  Dela- 
ware Rivers,  including  all  the  possessions  of  New  Neth- 
erland. In  August  following,  the  Duke's  squadron, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Richard  Nicoll,  of  four  ships, 
with  ninety-four  guns  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  sol- 
diers, anchored  oft'  New  Amsterdam.  To  resist  such  a 
force,  the  city  was  Vviiolly  unprepared,  and  Stuyvesant 
very  unwillingly  consented  to  capitulate.  The  name  of 
Fort  Amsterdam  immediately  changed  to  Fort  James, 
and,  worse  still.  New  Amsterdam  became  New  York  in 
name — a  royal  name  unknown  in  history  to  virtue,  great- 
ness, or  renown.  The  ascendency  of  the  Hollanders  in 
numbers,  character,  and  iufiuence,  however,  continued 
a  long  while.     Even  now,  after  a  period  of  almost  two 

*  Alb.  Rec,  xxiL,  100. 


EARLIEST   CHUKCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  43 

centuries,  amidst  the  changes  of  the  city,  and  its  present 
heterogeneous  poj)ulation,  there  can  be  found  the  honest 
maxims,  the  homely  pictures,  and  the  famil}?^  Bible,  of 
the  fatherland.  And  so,  also,  have  their  churches  and 
schools  and  dominies  descended,  with  all  tlieir  saving 
influences,  to  our  day. 

At  the  close  of  Stuyvesant's  administration,  from 
charter  provisions  and  the  efforts  of  the  clergy,  "schools 
existed  in  almost  ever}^  town  and  village'"'^  in  Kew 
N"etherland.  Although  'New  Amsterdam  became  New 
York,  and  the  Dutch  government  had  ceased  in  ISTew 
York,  still  the  Dutch  people.  Church,  and  school 
remained.  By  tlie  articles  of  capitulation,  they  had 
secured  "the  liberty  of  tlieir  conscience  in  divine  wor- 
ship and  Church  discipline,  with  all  their  accustomed 
jurisdiction  of  the  poor  and  orphans."  It  is  very 
probable  that  Van  Hoboocken's  school  on  the  Bouwery 
was  discontinued,  but  Pietersen  taught  as  heretofore, 
and  in  1655  he  resided  in  De  Browker  Straat.f 

It  must  be  remembered,  that  the  ecclesiastical  relations 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  remained,  as  heretofore, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Amsterdam  Classis.  The 
Church  school  continued  stUl  to  be  supervised  by  the 
deacons,  but  now,  deprived  of  all  aid  from  the  public 
treasury,  its  support  devolved  upon  the  consistory. 

The  efforts  often  made  to  advance  the  English  Church, 
at  times  were  severely  felt  by  that  of  the  Dutch  ;  but, 
tolerant  to  all,  she  maintained  from  the  first  the  enjoy- 
ment of  her  own  worship  and  school. 

Lord  Cornbury,  a  governor,  was  a  well-known  persecu- 

*  Coll  New  K,  ii.,  546.  f  Valentine's  Manual,  1850. 


44  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   TIV   NEW   YORK. 

tor  of  all  denoiTiinations  not  Episcopalian.  Among  other 
infamous  acts,  lie  imprisoned  and  lined  two  Presbyterian 
ministers,  and,  by  rigid  measures,  broke  up  the  Dutch 
schools  on  Long  Island.  None  can  doubt,  for  a  moment, 
but  that  he  was  acting  contrary  to  the  principles  and 
teachings  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  His  own 
misguided  zeal  did  this  mischief. 

Still  persevering  in  his  obstinacy,  Cornbury  gave  the 
Dutch  Church  to  understand  that  no  Dutch  minister  or 
schoolmaster  would  be  permitted  to  exercise  his  calling, 
without  a  special  license  from  himself.  This  usurpation, 
directly  opposed  to  the  previousl}^  granted  charter,  given 
by  William  III.  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  Amer- 
ica, which  said  "that  the  ministers  of  said  Church,  for  the 
time  being,  shall  and  may,  by  and  with  consent  of  the 
elders  and  deacons  of  the  said  Church  for  the  time  being, 
nominate  and  appoint  a  schoolmaster,  and  such  other 
under  officers  as  they  shall  stand  in  need  of.'"-  A  com- 
mittee of  the  Consistory  remonstrated  against  the  gov- 
ernor' s  claim,  as  contrary  to  this  provision,  and  retained 
their  rights  and  settled  their  own  teachers  as  heretofore, 
although  his  illegal  prohibition  unjustly  and  disastrouslj^ 
injured  the  Dutch  congregations  in  other  sections  of  the 
province. 

In  172G,  the  Dutch  Church  school  was  under  the 
charge  of  Barent  De  Forest,  and  there  is  no  dir(,>ct  refer- 
ence to  its  history  in  official  records  until  the  year  1743  ; 
here  the  regular  minutes  commence  again,  from  which 
we  can  learn,  ever  since,  an  uninterruiDted  account  of 
the  institution  and  its  teachers.     Another  Church  school 

*  Act  of  Inoorporatiori  R.  P.  D.  Church. 


EARLIEST   CHUrvCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  45 

"farther  up  town"  became  necessary,  wlien  Mr.  Abra- 
ham De  Lanoy  took  charge  of  it;  he  was  also  to  dis- 
charge the  duty  of  catechetical  instruction  to  the  children 
in  the  Garden  Street  Church,  and  De  Lanoy  at  the  New, 
or  "Middle  Dutch." 

In  1746,  the  consistoiy  appropriated,  in  addition  to  his 
salary,  ten  pounds.  New  York  currency,  for  one  year, 
"to  officiate  as  chorister  alternately  in  the  Old  and  New 
Church"  (Garden  and  Nassau).  Mr.  Yan  AYageneu  in- 
tending to  resign  in  1748,  Mr.  Daniel  Bratt,  chorister  at 
Catskill,  was  appointed  in  his  ^Dlace,  for  five  years,  in  the 
"  New"  (Middle)  Church.  He  was  also  to  act  as  school- 
master, and  to  be  provided  with  a  dwelling-house, 
school-room,  twelve  free  scholars,  and  "for  which  he 
should  receive  twelve  j)ounds  ten  shillings,  with  a  load 
of  wood  for  each  scholar,  annually,  half  nut  and  half 
oak."     His  services  commenced  in  April,  1749. 

During  the  year  1691,  the  Dutch  Church  purchased 
from  the  Common  Council,  for  four  hundred  and  hity 
dollars,  a  tract  of  land  on  Garden  street,  between  Wil- 
liam and  Broad, — on  the  north  side  one  hundred  and 
seventy-live  feet,  on  the  south  one  hundred  and  eighty. 
Here  a  church  had  been  built,  1693,  and  opposite,  on 
the  south  side,  the  new  schoolhouse  and  teacher' s  dwell- 
ing were  erected,  in  1784.  To  the  curious  in  old  matters, 
this  property  is  now  known  as  number  fifty  and  fifty- 
two,  Exchange  Place.  Here  this  excellent  Dutch  Church 
school  continued  for  seventy-six  years,  three-quarters  of 
a  century  !  What  eventful  changes  have  taken  place  on 
this  venerable,  time-honored,  and  once  sacred  spot !  The 
church  and  its  graveyard  and  the  schoolhouse  all  have 


40  EAllLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

passed  away,  not  a  vestige  of  tlieir  foraier  pious  pnri)Oses 
remaining.  And  now,  tlie  keen  dealers  in  notes,  stocks, 
"greenbacks,'"  and  specie,  croAvd  the  Avliole  once  sacred 
region !    Tlii  s  is  wliat  has  been  called  ' '  Yonng  America ! ' ' 

In  1751,  a  Mr.  Van  der  Slam  received  the  appointment 
of  "Consoler  of  the  Sick  and  Catechiser,"  and  Mr.  Bratt 
as  chorister  and  schoolmaster,  his  services  terminating 
in  1754.  The  consistory  now  found  it  difficult  to  pro- 
cure a  suitable  person  for  "  Voorleser"  and  schoolmas- 
ter, when  the}^  resolved,  1755,  "to  call  a  chorister, 
catechist,  and  schoolmaster  from  Holland." 

Such  an  one  was  obtained  in  Mr.  John  Nicholas 
Wel]3,  who  arrived  from  Amsterdam  in  1755.  For  more 
than  seventeen  years,  as  schoolmaster  and  chorister,  he 
performed  his  duties  satisfactorily  and  with  fidelity, 
when  death  ended  liis  useful  labors.  During  his  ser- 
vices there  had  been  great  excitement  and  discussion 
about  introducing  the  English  language  in  the  worship 
of  the  Dutch  Church.  It  was  finally  detei mined  to  call 
a  minister  who  should  officiate  in  English,  while  the 
Dutch  was  to  be  continued  a  part  of  the  Sabbath.  Dr. 
Laidlie  Avas  thus  called,  and  delivered  his  first  sermon 
in  English  at  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  last  Sabbath  in  March,  1764,  from  2  Corinthians 
V.  11 :  "  Knowing,  tlierefore,  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we 
persuade  men."  All  the  public  services  were  conducted 
in  the  English  language,  excejot  the  singing,  in  Dutch,  led 
by  Jacobus  Van  Antwerp  (Voorsanger,  or  fore-singer), 
as  the  congregation  were  not  acquainted  with  English 
psalmody.  The  immense  house  was  densely  crowded,  and 
many  climbed  in  tlie  windows  on  this  unusual  occasion. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  47 

This  new  measure,  as  might  well  be  expected,  gave 
great  offence  to  some ;  and  finding  all  thMr  expostula- 
tions in  vain,  at  last  they  invoked  the  civil  power.  In 
1767,  more  than  three  years  after  the  settlement  of  the 
"English  Preacher,"  a  few  members  of  the  Dutch  con- 
gregation presented  a  remonstrance  to  his  Excellency, 
Sir  Henry  Moore,  Governor  of  New  York,  complaining 
that  the  consistory  had  violated  the  constitution  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  by  the  introduction  of  English 
services  in  their  public  worship.  Abel  Hardenbrook, 
Jacobus  Stoutenburgh,  with  Huybert  Van  Wagenen, 
and  others,  signed  this  remonstrance  ;  and  the  last- 
named  was  the  schoolmaster  in  1743  ;  and  the  document 
failing  in  its  object,  he  connected  himself  Avith  the  Eng- 
lish Church. 

Nine  years  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Welp,  the  English 
language  had  been  introduced  into  the  Dutch  pulpits, 
and  had  now  become  quite  common,  so  that  regard  must 
be  paid  to  this  fact  in  the  selection  of  a  new  school- 
master. It  had  become  necessary  that  he  should  "in- 
struct twenty  poor  children  in  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic,  as  well  in  both  the  English  and  Dutcli  lan- 
guages." In  Mr.  Peter  Van  Steenburgh,  schoolmaster  at 
Flatbush,  Long  Island,  was  to  be  found  such  a  person, 
when  he  was  called,  and  accepted  the  invitation  in 
1773.*  A  new  and  enlarged  schoolhouse  was  built, 
and  for  three  years  the  school  continued  its  0]3erations 
under  Mr.  Van  Steenburgh,  amidst  great  public  excite- 
ment, when  it  Avas  compelled  to  disband.  It  was  the 
moment   of  intense  public   excitement  in  New  York. 

*  Dunshee's  History  of  the  school,  p.  72. 


48  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   JSTEAV   YORK. 

Here,  in  17G5,  the  Provincial  Congress  assembled,  pass- 
ing the  famous  "Declaration  of  Eights."  Here  the 
stamped  paper  had  been  destroyed,  and  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  hung  in  eflSgy,  in  1765.  And  the  same  year 
of  Van  Steenburgh's  appointment,  the  "  Sons  of  Lib- 
erty" destroyed  a  cargo  of  tea,  on  its  arrival.  From 
these  and  other  similar  causes,  the  city  of  IS'ew  York 
was  soon  jDOssessed  by  the  British  forces,  and  became 
the  head-quarters  of  the  enemy.  Martial-law  Avas  de- 
clared ;  many  patriotic  citizens  fled  to  neighboring 
places  for  safet}^  and  all  the  churches  and  schools 
were  closed  and  discontinued  during  the  war.  Now 
we  lose  sight  of  the  "Krank-bezoecker,"  "Yoorsanger," 
and  the  "Voorleser,"  for  several  years.  Not  less  than 
live  thousand  American  prisoners  were  confined  in  the 
city  jails,  sugar-houses,  and  Dissentmg  churches.  Sev- 
eral hundred  crowded  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  until 
removed  to  make  room  for  a  cavalry  riding-school. 
The  North  Church  held  eight  hundred  prisoners,  and 
its  i:)ews  were  used  for  fuel.  To  increase  these  desecra- 
tions and  these  evils,  in  July,  177G,  a  fire  consumed 
four  hundred  and  ninety-three  houses,  from  AYliitehall 
Slip  to  Cortlandt  street,  Trinit}'  Church  and  the  Luther- 
an, on  the  opposite  corner,  included  in  the  number. 
Again,  August,  1776,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Coenties 
Slip,  three  hundred  mor(3  houses  were  consumed.  In 
such  times,  and  for  seven  long  years,  all  church  service 
ceased,  and  tlie  schools  and  college  closed. 

On  the  return  of  peace,  the  scattered  citizens  grad- 
ually returned  to  their  old  homes.  The  consistory  of 
the    Reformed    Dutch    Church    reorganized    again    in 


EARLIEST   CIIUKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  49 

September,  1783,  four  days  only  after  the  signing  of 
the  Treaty  of  Peace,  at  Paris,  and  before  the  British 
evacuated  New  York,  in  the  month  of  November  fol- 
lowing. 

Mr.  Van  Steenburgh,  returning  to  the  city  in  1784, 
again  took  charge  of  his  old  Church  School.  This  insti- 
tution, from  its  commencement  until  now,  had  been 
known  as  the  "Public,"  "Free,"  or  "Low  Dutch 
School."  It  now  used  the  term  "Charity,"  as  similar 
seminaries  were  called  "Charity  Schools,"  by  the  other 
denominations.  They  derived  their  support  from  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  the  church  members.  The 
Episcopal  Charity  School,  founded  in  1748,  had  received 
large  legacies  from  those  in  her  communion,  aided  by 
annual  collections ;  and  from  this  circumstance,  proba- 
bly, the  term  was  adopted.  This  school  subsequently 
discarded  the  title,  becoming  a  chartered  institution, 
with  a'less  objectionable  name.  Most  of  these  denom- 
inational free  schools,  that  existed  towards  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  have  ceased  long  since. 

In  the  fall  of  1789,  commenced  the  jiractice  of  provid- 
ing each  scholar  with  a  suit  of  clothes,  which  was  after- 
wards adopted  in  the  Episcopal  and  Methodist  Church 
Free  Scliools.  To  meet  this  new  expense,  public  collec- 
tions were  made  in  the  respective  congregations  on  the 
same  Sabbath  day.  This  was  an  interesting  occasion 
with  the  scholars  and  their  friends ;  all  turned  out  in 
their  new  suits,  and,  dressed  alike,  sang  beautiful  hymns 
before  the  congregations ;  after  which  and  the  sermon, 
the  public  collections  were  taken  up.  At  times,  these 
amounted  to  very  large,  generous   sums,  and  the  lib- 


50  EARLIEST   CnUECIIES   IK   NEW   YORK. 

erality  of  the  Collegiate  Dutcli  Cliiiich  became  pro- 
verbial. 

From  the  establishment  of  the  Dutch  Church  School, 
in  1633,  its  schoolmaster,  with  only  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, had  acted  as  chorister ;  and  in  1791,  Mr.  Stanton 
Latham,  clerk  in  the  North  Church  since  1789,  super- 
seded Mr.  Van  Steenburgh,  in  consequence  of  his  "  sing- 
ing" talents.  He  also  agreed  "to  teach  fifty  scholars  for 
seven  shillings  per  quarter,"  and  his  offer  was  accepted 
by  the  consistory. 

In  1792,  it  was  deemed  an  indispensable  condition  of 
the  admission  of  boys  in  future,  that  tlieir  parents  or 
guardians  "do,  previously,  by  bond,  engage  themselves 
to  bind  them  to  some  useful  ]jrofession  or  em}Dloyment, 
at  the  exi)iration  of  their  terms  in  school,  or  secure  to 
the  consistory  the  power  of  so  doing ;' '  but  this  plan 
was  never  carried  out. 

Like  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Latham  had  enjoyed  the 
advantage  of  having  some  pay  scholars  ;  but,  in  the 
year  1795,  it  was  resolved  to  admit  none  but  "charity 
scholars"  into  the  school.  His  salary  was  now  fixed  at 
two  hundred  dollars  a  year,  house-rent  free,  with  twelve 
cords  of  wood  yearly  for  the  school.  In  1804,  tln^  num- 
ber of  x)upils  was  limited  to  sixty. 

During  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
years\he  deacons  of  the  Dutch  Church  had  constituted 
a  Standing  Committee,  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
school ;  but  in  1808,  it  was  placed  under  the  care  of  a 
"Board  of  Trustees."  Its  original  members  are  well 
remembered  —  excellent  names  —  John  Stoutenburgh, 
Richard  Duryee,  Isaac  Heyer,  Abraham  Brinckerhoff, 


EAELIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  51 

Anthony  De}^,  Jesse  Baldwin,  and  John  Mtchie,  Jr. 
During  the  same  year,  the  teacher's  salary  was  increased 
to  six  hundred  dollars. 

In  1809,  Mr.  Latham  resigned  his  office,  when  Joseph 
Hinds,  a  graduate  of  the  institution,  became  an  assistant 
teacher,  until  the  election  of  Mr.  Forrester  as  principal, 
during  the  same  year,  when  he  adopted  the  Lancasterian 
system  of  instruction,  in  sand  and  on  slate.  It  is  here 
worthy  of  note,  that  the  old  eight-day  clock,  which  had 
hung  so  many  years  in  the  Garden  Street  Church,  was 
repaired  and  removed  to  the  schoolroom.  A  venerable 
and  faithful  chronicler  of  time,  precious  time,  it  still,  on 
the  walls  of  the  present  schooEiouse,  marks  the  rapidly 
passing  moments. 

During  the  year  1805,  the  Free  School  Society  Avas 
founded  in  the  city  of  New  York ;  and  in  1812,  the 
'•Common  School  System"  commenced  in  the  State. 
Tliese  legal  movements,  consequently,  affected  the  Chari- 
ty Schools  of  the  city.  When  the  Free  School  Society 
assured  the  public  that  children  should  have  the  same 
privileges,  literary  and  religious,  which  they  enjoyed  in 
their  own  church  schools,  most  of  tliese  institutions  dis- 
banded. But  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  adhering  to 
her  own  views  on  this  important  subject,  declined  the 
overture,  following  those  principles  which  she  had 
maintained  for  centuries. 

In  1818,  the  school  numbered  one  hundred  scholars — 
seventy-six  boys  and  twenty-four  girls.  For  seventy- 
six  years  the  institution  had  now  continued  in  Garden 
street,  and  a  temporary  removal  to  Duane  street,  near 
William,  became  necessary.     Here  the  school  remained 


62  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

until  1835,  when  it  again  removed  to  Elm  street,  corner 
of  Canal ;  thence  it  occnpied  the  basement  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church,  on  Broome  and  Greene  streets, 
removing  to  the  basement  of  the  church  on  the  corner 
of  Greene  and  Houston  streets,  remaining  one  year,  till 
its  removal  to  No.  91  Mercer  street.  Here  its  sessions 
continued  five  years,  when  temporary  accommodations 
were  prepared  in  the  basement  of  the  Ninth  Street 
Church. 

I]i  July,  1847,  ground  was  broken  for  a  new  and 
permanent  school  edifice,  on  Fourth  street ;  and  in 
November  following,  the  old  school  took  possession  of 
it.  Noah  Webster,  Esq.,  for  many  years  the  President 
of  the  Trustees,  commenced  the  ceremony  of  dedication 
by  solemnly  commending  the  institution,  its  friends, 
teachers,  and  scholars,  in  devout  prayer,  to  Almighty 
God.  He  thanked  the  Lord  for  His  constant  care  and 
goodness  ever  extended  over  this  signall}^  blessed  institu- 
tion of  the  Church !  The  new  edifice  is  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  its  purposes.  It  is  built  of  brick,  and  is  forty  feet 
front  by  forty-five  deep,  and  three  stories  high.  The 
"Honors"  of  the  school,  annually  distributed,  consist 
of  a  Bible,  a  Psalm-Book,  with  the  Catechism  and 
Liturgy  of  the  Cliurch,  and  a  mountc^d  engraved  Testi- 
monial."^^ 

In  the  year  1842,  the  trustees  appointed  Henry  T. 
Dunshee  principal  of  the  school ;  and  Mr.  Forrester 
having  been  engaged  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  its 
arduous  duties  during  the  last  thirty-two  y{}ars,  it  was 
concluded  that  he  ought  now  to  be  relieved,  at  the  age 

*  Mr.  Dniulice's  History  of  this  school,  1853. 


RjiroK.MEi)  Dutch  CiirKcii  in  Gakden  Stueet. 

ISO". 

1^ 


MiODLE  Di;t(;ii  (Jiujhcii  in-  "Nassau  Stueet. 
Altered  in  ITW. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  53 

of  nearly  seventy  years,  from  his  responsibilities.  He 
was,  however,  retained  as  catechist  for  twelve  months, 
when  his  long  connection  with  the  school  closed.  Few 
men,  in  his  sj^here  and  day,  have  been  more  useful ; 
and,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years,  he  still  lives, 
the  monument  of  God's  goodness  and  mercy!  He  is  a 
Scotchman,  born  in  the  environs  of  Edinburgh,  1775, 
and  emigrated  to  America  in  1794.  Teaching  has  been 
his  employment  through  life. 

We  have  described  this  venerable  school  thus  fully, 
because,  of  all  charities,  that  which  imparts  literary  and 
religious  education  to  destitute  children,  and  prepares 
Uiem  for  usefulness  in  Church  and  State,  is  the  most 
important  and  praiseworthy.  This,  too,  is  now  the  old- 
est educational  institution  in  our  land,  and  most  closely 
identified  with  the  history  of  our  city  from  its  settle- 
ment, and  allied  to  the  most  ancient  Church  within  her 
borders.  Even  its  associations  become  most  interesting, 
delightful,  and  important.  In  1863,  the  two  hundred 
and  thirtieth  anniversary  of  this  school  was  held  in  the 
Middle  Dutch  Church,  Lafayette  Place ;  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Vermilye  delivered  the  diplomas  to  the  graduating  class, 
when  the  parting  song  was  sung. 


54  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST    BURIAL-PLACE     IN     NEW    YORK SERVICES     OF    THE     CHURCH    OF 

ENGLAND     INTRODUCED,     ]  664 MR.     VESEY,     THE     FIRST     RECTOR 

CHARLOTTE      TEMPLe's      GRAVE REV.     ELIAS     NEAU DR.    VINTON 

EPISCOPAL      FREE      SCHOOL      ESTABLISHED  EPISCOPAL      CHURCHES 

CLOSED    IN    THE    REVOLUTION DRS.   COOPER,    AUCHMUTY,    CHARLTON, 

BARCLAY,   INGLIS REPLY   TO  "  COMMON    SENSe"  SEIZED    BY  SONS    OF 

LIBERTY     AND     BURNED GENERAL     HOWE     LANDS     IN    NEW    YORK 

THE    GREAT    FIRE,   1776 DR.   INGLIS    RETIRES    TO    NOVA    SCOTIA,  AND 

THERE     MADE     BISHOP THE     KINg's     FARM TRINITY     BURNED     AND 

REBUILT ST.    GEORGe's,    ST.    PAUl's,    AND     ST.    JOIIN's     BUILT GOV- 
ERNOR   Fletcher's    arrival  ;     a    high    churchman  —  churches 

ORDERED     TO     BE     ERECTED     IN    WESTCHESTER,    SUFFOLK,    AND     RICH- 
MOND— CITIZENS    TAXED    FOR    THEIR    SUPPORT. 

The  first  bnrial-place  in  the  city  was  about  tlie  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Morris  street — four  lots  of  twenty-five 
by  one  hundred  feet.  Tliis  was  abandoned  in  1G76, 
and  the  north  part  of  Trinity  cliurchyard  substituted. 
Trinity  Church  was  erected  in  1696,  and  incorporated  the 
next  year  as  the  "Parisli  Church."  On  the  transfer  of 
the  ISTew  iSTetlierlaud  colony  to  the  British,  in  1664,  the 
worship  of  the  Church  of  England  was  introduced,  and 
the  chaplain  of  the  British  foi'ces  conducted  divine 
service  in  tlie  Dutch  church  at  the  fort.  A  very 
friendly  feeling  existing  between  the  two  denomina- 
tions when  Mr.  Vesey,  the  first  rector,  arrived,  he  was 
invited  to  liold  his  religious  services  in  the  Garden 


EAELIEST   CHUECnES   IN   NEW   TOllK.  55 

Street  Cliurch  on  a  part  of  the  Sabbath.  When  he  was 
inducted  into  his  holy  office,  Governor  Fletcher  request- 
ed two  of  the  Dutch  clergymen  to  be  present. 

Until  the  cessation  of  burials,  by  law,  in  the  city. 
Trinity  churchyard  was  a  general  cemetery,  where  mul- 
titudes, thousands  on  thousands,  of  the  past  generations 
have  been  -interred.  There  is  scarcely  an  old  family 
among  us  but  has  some  relative  or  friend  sleeping  in 
this  sacred  repository.  Here  lie  the  ashes  of  Generals 
Hamilton  and  Lamb,  and  Colonel  Willet,  "with  other 
Revolutionary  heroic  men — Captain  Lawrence  and  Lieu- 
tenant Ludlow  of  the  Chesapeake,  heroes  of  the  war  of 
1812.  AVho  has  not  read  the  story  of  Charlotte  Temple  ? 
It  was  a  tale  of  truth  ;  and  the  lady  also  slumbers  here. 
What  reverend  histories  are  attached  to  the  silent  ten- 
ants of  this  vast  field  of  the  dead  !  Nearl}^  all  the  tomb- 
stones first  placed  are  dilapidated  or  have  perished. 
Some  of  the  buried,  however,  have  become  a  part  of 
history,  and  will  never  be  forgotten. 

In  old  Trinity  churchyard  repose  the  remains  of  many 
Huguenots,  and  among  them  those  of  the  Rev.  Elias 
Neau,  the  j^aternal  ancestor  of  Commodore  Perry's  wife ; 
and  a  Perry  married  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vinton,  a  descendant 
of  the  seventh  generation  from  this  venerable  and  pious 
ancestor.  The  doctor  now  is  a  distinguished  minister 
of  old  Trinity,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  and  declaring  sacred  truth  on  the  same 
reverend  spot  where  his  children's  pious  progenitor 
exercised  the  same  holy  calling  so  very  long  ago.  Mr. 
ISTeau's  memory  deserves  more  notice.  He  was  a  tal- 
ented,  good  man,  and  appointed   catechist  of  Trinity 


SQ  EAELIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

■when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  was  its  rector.  After  his 
appointment,  for  a  number  of  years,  he  diligently  dis- 
charged his  important  religious  duties  among  the  slaves 
and  Indians,  of  whom  there  were  some  fifteen  hundred 
catecliumens  in  the  city.  He  could  never  collect  them 
until  candle-light,  in  summer  or  winter,  except  on  the 
Sabbath,  when  the}^  assembled  after  the  last  clinrch 
services.  He  may  be  said  to  be  the  founder  of  the 
Free  School  of  that  church,  so  celebrated,  serviceable, 
and  numerous  for  many  years.  He  closed  a  life  of  extra- 
ordinary usefulness  in  the  year  1722,  and  his  dust  also 
sleeps  in  Trinity  burial-ground,  nearly  on  a  line  with  its 
northern  ]3orch. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  xlmerican  Revolution, 
there  was  much  animosity  manifested  towards  the  Epis- 
copal or  Cliurch  of  England.  Most  of  its  clergy  took 
sides  with  the  British,  and  hence  were  violently  opposed 
by  the  .Whig  or  American  party.  The  Episcopal 
churches,  generally,  were  closed,  and  many  of  their 
pastors  sought  safety  in  England.  Among  this  number 
was  Myles  Cooper,  D.  D.,  President  of  King's  (Colum- 
bia) College.  Dr.  Samuel  Auchmuty  succeeded  tlie 
ReY.  Mr.  Charlton  as  catechist  to  the  negroes,  and  assist- 
ant minister  in  Trinity ;  and  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Barclay, 
in  1764,  lie  was  elected  rector.  He,  too,  was  a  strong 
loyalist,  and  retired,  for  a  season,  to  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  with  his  family.  Dr.  Charles  Inglis  became 
assistant  to  Dr.  Auchmuty  in  1765,  whom  he  succeeded 
as  the  rector  of  Trinity,  two  years  afterwards. 

He  was  a  decided  Tory  and  Churchman ;  and  when 
Washington,  with  the  American  troops,  took  j)ossession 


EAKLIEST   CIIUEOHES   IN   NEW   YOIIK.  57 

of  the  city,  the  General,  soon  after  his  arrival,  attended 
Trinity  Church.  One  of  his  officers  called  at  the  rec- 
tor's house,  leaving  word  that  "he  would  be  glad  if 
the  violent  prayers  for  the  king  and  royal  family  were 
omitted."  But  Inglis  paid  no  regard  to  the  request, 
informing  Washington  that  "it  was  in  his  power  to 
shut  up  our  churches,  but  by  no  means  in  his  power 
to  make  the  clergy  depart  from  their  dut}^"  Whilst 
officiating  on  the  Sabbath,  a  company  of  one  hundred 
"armed  rebels"  marched  into  the  church,  with  drums 
beatmg  and  fifes  playing,  their  guns  loaded  and  bayo- 
nets fixed.  The  congregation  was  thrown  into  great 
consternation,  but  Inglis,  elevating  his  voice  above  the 
noise  and  tumult,  went  on  with  the  services.  The 
soldiers,  finally,  invited  by  the  sexton,  took  seats,  and 
the  thing  passed  off"  without  accident. 

When  independence  was  declared,  soon  after,  the 
vestries  of  the  Episcopal  churches  shut  them  up ;  and 
at  this  moment  the  equestrian  statue  of  King  George  in 
the  Bowling  Green  was  pulled  down  and  demolished. 
All  the  royal  arms,  even  on  the  tavern  signs,  were 
destroyed,  and  orders  were  sent  to  have  them  removed 
from  Trinity,  or  the  mob  would  do  the  work  them- 
selves. Dr.  Inglis  wisely  and  immediately  complied. 
His  family  were  removed  to  a  distant  jiart  of  the  coun- 
try for  safety,  but  he  remained,  "to  visit  the  sick,  bap- 
tize the  children,  bury  the  dead,  and  afford  what  sup- 
port I  could  (he  writes)  to  the  remains  of  our  poor 
fiock."  He  took  possession  of  all  the  keys,  "lest,"  he 
cAds,  "the  sexton's  might  be  tampered  with."     Thus, 


58  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

for  the  present,   the  Episcopal  churches  escaped  the 
desecration  of  the  war. 

At  tills  moment  of  national  excitement,  Faine  pub- 
lished his  "Common  Sense,"  earnestly  justifying  inde- 
pendence, and  the  rector  of  Trinity  characterized  it  as 
"one  of  the  most  virulent,  artful,  and  pernicious  pam- 
phlets ever  met  with,  and  perhaps  the  wit  of  man  could 
^^ot  devise  one  better  calculated  to  do  mischief.  It 
seduced  thousands."  At  the  risk  of  life  and  liberty  he 
•answered  it,  but,  as  soon  as  printed,  his  whole  impres- 
sion was  seized  by  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  and  burned. 
He  sent,  however,  a  copy  to  Philadelphia,  where  it  was 
printed,  with  a  second  edition.  This,  of  course,  swelled 
the  catalogue  of  the  rector' s  political  transgressions,  and 
he  was  compelled  to  retire  to  Flushing,  on  Long  Island, 
and  "keep  as  private  as  possible."  Soon,  General 
Howe  defeated  the  Americans  at  the  unfortunate  battle 
on  Long  Island,  which  set  him  at  liberty,  with  many 
Tories  in  New  York. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  1776,  General  Howe  landed 
at  Nevv^  York  with  the  English  forces,  when  the  Ameri- 
cans abandoned  the  city.  Early  the  next  morning  Dr. 
Inglis  returned  to  his  house,  which  he  found  plundered 
of  every  thing.  "My  loss  amounts  (he  says)  to  near 
two  hundred  pounds,  this  currency,  or  upwards  of  one 
hundred  pounds  sterling.  The  rebels  carried  off  all  the 
bells  in  the  city,  partly  to  convert  them  into  cannon, 
partly  to  prevent  notice  being  given  speedily  of  the 
destruction  they  meditated  against  the  city  by  lire  when 
it  began."  On  the  following  day  he  opened  one  of  the 
Episcopal   churches   and    solemnized   divine   worship, 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  59 

wlien  the  citizens,  now  very  few,  generally  attended, 
l)ut  tliey  were  Episcopalians.  They  congratulated  each 
other  on  the  prospect  of  returning  security,  but  were  to 
be  mistaken  and  disaj)pointed. 

On  the  next  Saturday,  the  weather  being  dry,  with 
the  wind  blowing  fresh,  the  city  was  fired  in  several 
places,  at  the  same  moment,  before  daylight.  The  fire, 
raging  with  utmost  fury,  destroyed  about  one  thousand 
houses,  embracing  a  fourth  of  the  whole  place.  Three 
Episcopal  churches  were  burned — Trinity,  the  oldest 
and  largest.  It  was  now  a  venerable  edifice,  with  an 
excellent  organ,  costing  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
The  rector's  house  and  the  Charity  School,  two  large 
buildings,  with  St.  Paul's  Church  and  King's  College 
(Columbia),  shared  the  same  fate.  The  loss  of  cliurch 
property  was  estimated  to  be  twenty-five  thousand 
pounds. 

Dr.  Inglis  was  ordained  in  England,  and,  when  peace 
came,  in  1783,  he  w^as  obliged  to  leave  the  States,  as  he 
himself,  with  his  lady,  were  included  in  the  Act  of 
Attainder.  With  some  of  his  flock,  he  accordingly 
went  to  Annapolis,  Nova  Scotia,  where,  in  1787,  he  was 
consecrated  the  first  Colonial  Bishop)  of  that  x^rovince. 
He  died  in  1816,  aged  eighty-two  years.  His  son,  John 
Inglis,  was  the  third  Protestant  Bishop  of  JSTova  Scotia. 

In  1703,  the  "King's  Farm"  had  been  granted,  by 
Queen  Anne,  to  Trinity,  and  it  thus  became  the  cele- 
brated Trinity  Church  property.  The  old  edifice  had 
been  enlarged  in  1735,  again  during  1737,  and  burned 
by  the  fire  of  1776.  It  was  again  rebuilt  in  1778,  and 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Provost  in  1791,  and  demolished 


00  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK, 

once  more  for  the  present  splendid  structure,  wliicli  was 
opened  during  the  year  1848. 

Trinity  Church,  afterwards,  was  enlarged,  so  as  to 
emb^-ace  St.  George's,  Beekman  street,  erected  in  1752 ; 
St.  Paul's,  1766;  St.  John's,  1807,  with  Trinity  Chapel, 
Twenty-fifth  street— all  its  cliapels.  The  first  Trinity 
was  built  in  1G96— a  small,  square  edifice,  with  a 
very  tall  spire.  One  of  its  pews  was  appropriated  to 
the  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  and  a  sermon  was 
annually  preached  to  them  on  the  day  of  the  city  elec- 
tion. 

St.  Paul's  Church  and  the  "North  Dutch"  are  the 
oldest  houses  of  worship  in  our  city,  and  were  erected 
within  three  years  of  eacli  other.  It  is  said  that  a 
friendly  social  strife  grew  up  between  the  respective 
denominations  in  building  these  sacred  edifices,  wliich 
would  vie  with  each  other  in  size  and  beauty.  We  do 
not  know  of  two  more  noble  or  magnificent  sacred  edi- 
fices of  their  style  among  the  hundreds  of  others  in  New 
York.  They  remain  the  same  as  when  first  erected — 
strong  links  between  the  present  and  tlie  "olden  time." 
Long,  long  may  they  continue  the  tabernacles  of  the 
Most  High !  The  new  Governor  of  New  York,  Benja- 
min Fletcher,  arrived  in  1692.  Despotic,  and  a  bigoted 
Churchman,  his  darling  project  was  to  make  the  Church 
of  England  the  established  one  of  the  land,  and  to  intro- 
duce, at  the  same  time,  the  English  language.  Tliis,  of 
course,  was  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  most  of  the  peoi)le, 
who  still  spoke  the  Dutch  and  "went  to  the  Dutch 
Church."  The  Colonial  Assembl}^  of  1693  passed  an 
act  to  build  one  church  in  New  York,  two  in  West- 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   11^   NEW    YORK.  61 

cliGster  and  Suffolk,  and  one  in  Riclimond,  each  to  be 
settled  with  a  Protestant  minister,  with  salaries  from 
forty  pounds  to  four  hundred  pounds,  raised  hy  taxes 
on  the  inhabitants.  Trinity  was  organized  under  this 
act.  Its  cemetery  was  to  be  kept  neatly  fenced,  and 
the  burial  fees  never  to  exceed  eighteen  pence  for 
children,  and  three  shillings  for  adults.  So  great  were 
the  numbers  in  this  city  of  the  dead,  as  to  amount  to 
more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  at  the  period 
of  the  Revolution. 

All  citizens  were  now  taxed  for  the  support  of  "the 
Churoh"  of  England,  whilst  other  Christians  were  pro- 
nounced ''Dissenters."  We  might  ask,  Dissenters  from 
what  ?  Is  it  not  an  historical  fact  that  the  Episcopalians 
are  the  Dissenters  from  the  famous  Reformed  Churches 
of  France,  of  Holland,  Germany,  and  Switzerland  ? 
They  are,  moreover.  Dissenters  from  the  Waldenses, 
Albigenses,  and  the  ancient  British  Christians,  who 
early  withstood  Popery  in  Ireland  and  Scotland.  For- 
tunately for  the  Dutch,  at  the  surrender  of  their  colony 
to  the  British  rule,  in  1664,  they  took  care  to  secure 
their  religious  rights  with  regard  to  the  worship  and 
discipline  of  their  churches.  The  Episcopalians,  then, 
were  a  mere  handful,  comparatively,  mostly  composed 
of  the  government  officers,  the  military,  and  their  de- 
pendents. StiU,  from  1693  to  1776,  all  Non-Episcopa- 
lians were  comj^elled,  by  unrighteous  law,  to  pay  taxes 
for  the  support  of  their  small  church.  By  the  glorious 
war  of  the  Revolution,  however,  the  people  were  set 
free  from  all  union  of  the  Church  and  State,  and  the 
establishment  of  any  sect  in  these  United  States.    During 


62  EARLIEST   CIIUKCHES   IN   jN^EW   YOEK. 

this  British  rule,  many  wlio  loved  the  "'loaves  and 
fishes"  left  the  communion  of  the  other  churches  for  the 
favored  Established  religion.  Thanks  to  the  bravery  of 
our  noble  forefathers,  we  are  delivered  from  all  national 
or  legal  "High  Churchism,"  "Puseyism,"  "Tithes," 
and  "Popery." 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  63 


CHAPTER    ly. 

TRINITY     CHURCH ITS     PRINCELY    LIBERALITY CHURCHES     HELPED 

queen's     farm FIRST    WARDENS    AND    VESTRYMEN SUBSCRIPTIONS 

TO     THE     BUILDING NEW     EDIFICE GOVERNOR     FLETCHEr's     ARMS 

AND     PEW king's      FARM- — MINISTERS'      SALARIES      SMALL FEES 

REV.    MR.  VESEY    AND    HIS    ASSISTANTS TRINITY    ENLARGED,   1737 

QUEEN     ANNE     PRESENTS     COMMUNION     SETS,     AND     THE     BISHOP     OF 
LONDON    A    PAROCHIAL    LIBRARY DEATH    OF    MR.  VESEY. 

Concerning  "Old Trinity,"  volumes  might  be  written. 
Tlie  more  we  examine,  the  more  do  we  reverence  and 
admire  this  ancient  and  munificent  religious  corpora- 
tion. In  its  early  liistory.  Trinity  parisli  needed  help, 
and  was  not  able  to  aid  others.  But,  as  far  back  as 
the  year  1745,  we  find  its  first  recorded  gift  of  a  com- 
munion, pulpit,  and  desk-cloth,  to  Mr.  Peter  Jay,  for 
the  church  at  Eye.  Since  that  distant  period,  its  dona- 
tions to  needy  congregations  have  been  princely  and 
very  numerous.  There  is  scarcely  a  form  in  which  tliis 
liberality  has  not  been  manifested — communion  plate, 
baptismal  fonts,  Bibles,  organs,  bells,  salaries,  &c.,  &c. 
When  Tom  Paine' s  "Age  of  Eeason"  was  popular 
(1797),  the  vestr}^  purchased,  for  distribution,  two  hun- 
dred copies  of  the  "Antidote  to  Deism,"  and  soon  after, 
five  hundred  of  "Watson's  Apology."  At  one  time 
they  appropriated  five  hundred  dollars  for  a  negro 
burial-ground  ;  and  in  1786,  three  lots  of  ground  for 
the  use  of  the  senior  pastors  of  the  Presbyterian  con- 


04  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

gregations  in  tliis  city  (Nos.  255,  256,  and  257  Robinson 
street,  now  Park  Place) ;  in  1765,  two  lots  to  tlie  corpo- 
ration, for  the  ferry  to  Paulus  Hook  ;  in  1771,  iive  Imn- 
dred  dollars  towards  building  a  public  market. 

Their  donations  to  aged  and  infirm  clergymen  have 
been  immense.     In 

179G,  the  Eev.  William  Hammel  thus  received  £100  per 

aunura  for  thirty  years $7,500 

1801-1 SIG.     Bishop  Provost  (annuity)          .         .         .  5,000* 

1S11-181G.     Bishop  Moore           "             ....  6,250 

1813-1819.     Dr.  Beach                  "         .         .         .         .  24,000 

Families  of  those  dying  in  its  (Trinity's)  service  .  .  3G,900 
,  King's  (Columbia)  College,  1752,  grant  of  land,  between 
Murray  and  Barclay  streets,  and  from  Church  street 
to  the  North  River,  valued  at  ...  .  400,000 
1802.  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Religion  and  Learning, 
thirtj^-two  lots  of  land  on  Barclay,  Warren,  Green- 
wich, Hudson,  Beach,  and  North  Moore  streets  .         .  1 29,500 

1808-182G.     African  Catechetical  Institute  .         .         .  7,072 

1825-1835.     General  Theological  Seminary      .         .         .  9,143 

183G-1843.     Episcopal  Fund 58,800 

1832-1847.     City  Missions 13,900 

These  are  magnilicont  sums  and  bene-'actions  to  the 
cause  of  piety  and  Christian  benevolence  ;  but  what  can 
equal  Trinity's  gifts  to  other  churches?  We  append  a 
few: 

1798.     St.  Mark's,  money  and  lots         ....  $150,770 
1804-1811.     Grace  Churcli,  including  twenty-five  lots     120,000 
(In  fact,  Grace  Church  was  built  by  the  corpo- 
ration of  Trinit}'.) 

1812-1813.     St.  George's,  thirty-three  lots         .         .  220,235 

1705-1809.     St.  Peter's,  AVestchester    ....  24,750 

1797-1809.'    St.  George's,  Flushing   ....  21,750 

1797-1809.     Grace,  Jamaica,  Long  Island      .         .         .  20,750 

1792-1800.     St.  James's,  Newtown   ....  21,250 

1797-1809.     St.  Anne's,  Broolvh^n          ....  $10,000 

1805-184G.     St.  Stephen's,  New  York        .         .  32,594 


ICAKLIEST   CHURCHES   11^   NEW   YORK.  G5 

1807-182.").  St.  MicbaeFR,  Bloomlngdalo,  and  St.  JameG's, 

Hamilton  Square,  mcluding  lots      ....  75.100 

1805-18-17.  Christ  Church,  Xew  York     .         .         .  74,200 

1811-1846.  Zion,  New  York 39,370 

1831-1842.  St.  Clement's.  New  York  ....  23,800 

1820-184G.  St.  Luke's 56,800 

1827-18-12.  St.  Thomas's '       .  32,300 

1827-1845.  All  Saints' 31,500 

1835-1846.  St.  Philip's 18,110 

1835-1846.  Church  of  the  Nativity  .         .         .         .  9,300 

1837-1840.  St.  Bartholomew's 24,650 

1833-1842.  Annunciation 9,400 

1845.     Holy  Apostles' 5,000 

Those  are  authentic  extracts  from  Dr.  Berrian's  His- 
tory, omitting  smaller  donations,  from  two  hundred 
dollars  and  upwards,  to  Ei3isco]:)al  churches  in  every 
section  of  our  great  State.  Their  record  tills  a  dozen 
octavo  pages  of  the  volume,  and  the  Doctor  estimated, 
in  1847,  tliat  the  "gifts,  loans,  and  grants  of  Trinity 
Church,  rating  the  lands  at  their  present  prices,  consid- 
erably exceed  Two  Millions  of  Dollars— a  sum  more 
than  equal,  in  the  opinion  of  competent  judges,  to  two- 
thirds  of  the  value  of  the  estate  which  remains."  These 
figures  speak  volumes  for  the  zeal,  liberality,  and  piety 
of  "Old  Trinity,"  and  as  such  we  leave  them,  a  com- 
ment on  themselv(\s. 

What  an  inestimable  benefaction  w^is  the  munificent 
gift  of  "Good  Queen  Anne,"  in  1705,  of  the  "Queen's 
Farm,"  to  the  corporation  of  Trinity  Cliurch  !  This 
property  was  then  literally  wliat  it  was  called  — a 
"farm,"  extending  from  St.  Paul's  Cliurch,  along  the 
Hudson,  to  Skinner  Eoad,  now  Christopher  street.  It 
was  of  comparatively  little  value,  but  long  since  has 
become  a  valuable  and  compact  part  of  our  great  city. 
Mere  nominal  rents,  or  long  leases,  have  rendered  the 
5 


66  EAIILIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOllE. 

property  mncli  less  productive  than  is  generally  ima- 
gined. What  a  hlessing  to  the  churches  of  our  land, 
that  the  heirs  of  Anneke  Jans,  and  speculators,  did  not 
succeed  in  their  attempts  to  invalidate  the  title  of  Trinity 
to  this  vast  and  valuable  estate  ! 

The  first  wardens  and  vestrymen  of  Tiinity  were  ap- 
pointed in  1G97 :  Thomas  Wenham  and  Robert  Lurting, 
wardens  ;  Caleb  Heathcote,  William  Merret,  John  Tudor, 
James  Emmot,  William  Morris,  Thomas  Clarke,  Ebene- 
zer  Wilson,  Samuel  Burt,  James  Evets,  Nathaniel  Mars- 
ton,  Michael  Howden,  John  Crooke,  William  Sharpas, 
LaAvrence  Read,  David  Jamison,  William  Iludleston, 
Gabriel  Ludlow,  Thomas  Burroughs,  John  Merret,  Wil- 
liam Jane  way,  vestrymen.  The  property  of  this  incor- 
poration was  then  unproductive,  the  English  inhabitants 
few,  with  scanty  means,  but  they  were  zealous  for  their 
Church.  Trinity  was  originally  a  small  square  edifice, 
founded  1696,  and  a  special  subscription  of  three  hundred 
and  twelve  pounds  thirteen  shillings  and  seven  pence 
was  made  to  build  the  steeple,  with  a  contribution  of 
five  pounds  twelve  shillings  and  three  pence  from  the 
Jews.  Yes,  from  the  sons  of  Abraliam  !  This  is  a 
remarkable  historical  item,  and  we  record  their  names  : 
Lewis  Gomez,  one  pound  two  shillings;  Abraham  D. 
Luiena,  one  pound ;  Rodrego  Pacheco,  one  pound ; 
Moses  Levy,  eleven  pence ;  Mordecai  Nathan,  eleven 
pence  ;  Jacob  Franks,  one  pound  ;  ]\Ioses  MicluK^l,  eight 
shillings  three  pence  :  total,  five  pounds  twelve^  shillings 
and  three  pence.  Some  gave  tlu^r  means  and  others 
their  time  to  the,  pious  undertaking.  ]Mr.  Snmuel  Burt 
was  ordered  to  "goe  down  to  Huntington  with  all  expe- 


The  First  Trinity  Cihtroh. 


i:ii!:n-<(l  ill  IT3T. 


Dcstrovril  li\-  !i:-c  in  ITTC. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   I]Sr   NEW   YORK.  67 

dition,  and  purcliase  all  the  Oyster  Shell  Lime  he  can  get 
there,  not  to  exceed  the  rate  of  8  or  9  shillings  pr  Loade 
for  the  nse  of  the  Clmrch  :  and  that  his  expences  in  trav- 
elling and  horse  lie  defrayed  out  of  thf^  Publick  Stock, 
he  desiring  nothing  for  his  time  and  trouble."  Colonel 
Peter  Schuyler  subscribed  "five  pounds,  to  be  paid  in 
boards."  One  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  two  shil- 
lings and  three  pence  were  remitted  from  Holland  to 
London,  the  amonnt  collected  for  the  "redemption  of 
slaves;"  but,  failing  that  use,  was  assigned  to  Trinity 
Church,  New  York.  At  London,  this  sum  was  invested 
in  "Strouds,"  thirty-eigJit  pieces,  and  upon  their  arrival 
here  sold  for  four  hundred  and  forty-eight  pounds. 
Another  singular  way  was  devised  to  increase  the  funds. 
Governor  Fletcher  granted  the  churchwardens  "a  Com- 
mission for  all  Weifts,  Wrecks,  and  Drift  Whales,  as 
should  come  on  shoar  on  ye  said  Island." 

The  new  edifice  was  about  one  liundred  and  forty- 
eight  feet  long  and  seventy-two  broad  ;  the  steeple  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  high  ;  and  over  tlie  door 
facing  the  river  this  inscription : 

"PEK  AUGUSTAM. 

"Hoc  Trinitatis  Templum  fundatum  est  anno  rogni  illustrissuni,"  &c. 

"This  Trinity  Churcli  was  founded  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Most  Illustrious 
Sovereign  Lord  William  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England.  Scot- 
land, France,  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  faith,  &c.,  and  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1G96;  and  built  by  the  voluntary  contributions  and  gifts  of  some  persons, 
and  chiefly  encouraged  and  promoted  by  the  bounty  of  his  Excellency  Colonel 
Benjamin  Fletcher,  Captain-General  and  Governor-in-cliiof  of  this  Province;  in 
the  time  of  whose  government  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  of  the  Protostant 
religion  of  tlie  Church  of  England,  as  now  established  by  law,  were  incorporated 
by  a  charter,  under  the  seal  of  the  Province,  and  many  other  valuable  gifts  he 
gave  to  it  of  his  private  fortune." 


68  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

On  tlie  walls  were  hung  the  arms  of  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal benefactors,  and  among  these,  conspicuously,  Gov- 
ernor Fletcher's,  and  under  them  the  above  legend. 
A  pew,  next  to  the  chancel,  was  also  presented  to  him, 
"to  remaine  forever  to  the  aforesaid  use."  About  this 
period  Trinity  received  some  valuable  gifts :  from  Gov- 
ernor Fletcher,  a  Bible ;  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  ' '  a  parcell 
of  Books  of  Divinity,  sent  over  by  the  Right  Rev. 
Heniy,  Lord  Bishop  of  London  ;"  "paving  stones  from 
the  Pink  Blossom  lodged  in  the  steeple,  being  the  gift  of 
ye  Lord  Bishop  of  Bristol  to  Trinity  Church  ;"  Lord 
Viscount  Cornbury  gave  "a  black  Pall,  on  condition  no 
person  dying  and  belonging  to  Forte  Anne  should  be 
deny'd  the  use  thereof,  Gratis." 

The  "King's  Farme"  was  let  on  terms  which  seem 
singularly  strange,  contrasted  with  the  high  rents,  high 
taxes,  and  high  price  of  property  now  in  that  section 
of  the  city.  George  Ryerse  was  to  have  the  farm  a  part 
of  the  y<iar,  with  "his  winter  and  summer  grain,  provi- 
ded he  plant  no  Indian  Corne  next  spring  therein  ;  that 
he  seAV  no  more  summer  grain  next  spring  than  winter 
grain,  ...  he  paying  for  the  same  the  sum  of  thirty-five 
pounds — twenty  pounds  the  first  of  November,  and  fif- 
teen pounds  the  first  of  May  next  ensuing." 

At  that  early  day  th(.^  salaries  were  very  small.  The 
rector's  income  was  only  one  hundred  pounds  per  an- 
num, with  an  allowance  of  tAventy-six  pounds  from  the 
Government  towards  his  house-rent.  The  clerk's  fees 
were :  for  attending  a  funeral,  five  shillings  sixpence ; 
a  marriage,  six  shillings  sixpence  ;  christening,  nine 
pence.     The  sexton's  fees:    for  ringing  the  bell,  tliree 


EAIILIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  69 

shillings  ;  digging  a  grave,  six  sliillings  ;  marriage,  three 
shillings  sixpence  ("every  stranger  paj^  double  fees"). 
"For  burying  a  man  or  woman  in  the  chancel,"  the 
rector's  charge  was  five  jjounds ;  a  child,  two  pounds 
ten  shillings  ;  under  ten  years,  one  pound  five  shillings  ; 
"  a  marriage  in  the  parish,"  thirteen  sliillings. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey,  the  first  rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
was  also  the  Commissary  of  the  Province  of  New  York, 
so  that  his  labors  were  twofold.  In  1715,  the  Rev.  Mr, 
Jenny  was  appointed  an  assistant  to  Mr.  Vesey,  at  a  sal- 
ary of  fifty  pounds  a  year.  After  several  services,  he 
was  removed  to  the  parish  of  Rye.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Wetmore  succeeded  him  in  office,  also  attending  to  the 
catechising  of  the  blacks  every  Wednesday,  Friday, 
and  Sunday  evening.  At  times,  nearly  two  hundred 
attended  his  instructions.  In  1726  he  was  inducted  in 
the  parish  of  Rye,  Mr.  Jenny  being  transferred  to  Hemp- 
stead. The  Rev.  Mr.  Colgan  was  appointed  catechist 
for  Trinity  in  1726. 

In  1737  Trinity  was  enlarged  from  its  old  square  form 
to  an  oblong,  seventy-two  feet  wide  and  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  long.     During  the  reigns  of  William  and 

» 

Mary,  Queen  Anne,  and  one  of  the  Georges,  the  royal 
bounty  had  presented  to  Trinity  three  communion  sets, 
inscribed  with  the  arms  and  names  of  the  donors.  The 
old  communion  cloth,  &c.,  were  given  to  the  church  at 
Rye.  A  present  of  valuable  books  for  a  parochial  library 
was  made  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  increased  by 
other  gifts,  until  their  catalogue  fills  nine  folio  manu- 
script pages.  For  a  long  time  they  were  kept  in  an 
upper  corner  of  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  but  removed  to  the 


70  EARLIEST   CHUEOHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

General  Theological  Seminarj,  as  a  foundation  of  its 
present  valuable  collection. 

In  1732  Mr.  Colgan  was  removed  to  Jamaica,  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Charlton  appointed  his  successor,  who  contin- 
ued the  humble  but  important  office  of  catechist  to  the 
slaves.  In  eight  years  he  baptized  two  hundred  and 
nineteen  "blacks." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  continued  in  the  service  of  Trmity 
Parish,  without  interruption,  for  lifty  years.  His  Chris- 
tian labors  must  have  been  great  and  abundant,  but  we 
have  no  Avritten  record  of  them,  as  the  register  of  the 
baptisms,  marriages,  and  funerals  he  attended,  is  said  to 
have  been  destroyed  by  the  great  conflagration  of  1776. 
After  a  long  life  of  honor  and  usefulness,  he  was  gath- 
ered to  his  fathers  in  peace.  A  notice  of  that  day  styles 
him  "a  most  tender,  affectionate  husband,  a  good,  indul- 
gent master,  a  faithful,  steady  friend,  and  beneficent  to 
aU." 


EABLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  71 


CHAPTER   Y. 

REV.  HENKY  BARCLAY  INDUCTED  INTO  TRINITY  CHURCH,   1746 CHAPEL 

OF  EASE,  ST.  George's — drs.  milnor  and  tyng — Washington  an 

ATTENDANT    rfERE DK.   SAMUEL    JOHNSTON,  AN    ASSISTANT    MINISTER 

OF   TRINITY GULIAN  C.  VERPLANCK,  HIS  GRANDSON,  NOW  A  VESTRY- 
MAN  DR.  JOHNSTON   THE   FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE 

NEW  ORGAN  FOR  TRINITY DR.  BARCLAy's    DEATH REV,  JOHN    OGIL- 

VIE,  HIS   DEATH  AND  BENEFACTIONS ST.  PAUl's    BUILT,   l763 HERE 

GENERAL     WASHINGTON     ALSO      WORSHIPPED  REV.     MR.     VARDILL, 

BENJAMIN  MOORE,  AND  DR.  BOWDEN,  ASSISTANT  MINISTERS  IN  TRINITY 

MR.  BEACH,  OF  CONNECTICUT,  A  BOLD  CHURCHMAN DEATH  OF  REV. 

DR.  AUCHMUTY. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Barclay  was  inducted  into  Trinity 
Church  on  the  22d  of  October,  1746,  George  Clinton, 
Governor  of  the  province,  signing  his  certificate  of 
induction.  A  few  years  after,  his  congregation  had 
increased  so  much  as  to  need  the  erection  of  a  chapel, 
although  the  old  church  would  accommodate  two  thou- 
sand hearers.  At  this  period  there  were  only  eight 
houses  of  worship  in  ISTew  York  city.  In  1748,  the 
wardens  were  authorized  to  buy  six  lots  of  ground 
fronting  Nassau  street  and  Fair  street,  from  David 
Clarkson,  Esq.,  to  build  a  Chapel  of  Ease  to  Trinity 
Church  thereon.  Five  hundred  pounds  was  the  price 
paid,  but  it  was  thought  that  other  lots  of  Colonel 
Beekman,  "fronting  onBeekman's  street  and  Van  Cliff's 
street,  would  be  more  commodious,"  when  these  were 
purchased  for  six  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds.  A 
number  of  presents  were  made  to  the  new  undertaking. 


72  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

jmd  among  tliese,  ten  pounds  from  the  Arclibisliop  of 
Canterbury ;  Sir  Peter  Warren,  one  Inindred  pounds, 
to  whom  a  -pew  was  assigned  for  his  liberality.  The 
chapel  was  called  St.  George's.  Its  dimensions  were 
ninety-two  by  seventy-two  feet,  the  steeple  lofty,  but 
irregular,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  high.  It 
was  built  in  a  then  new  and  crowded  section  of  the  city, 
near  Beekman's  Swamp  (Ferry  street).  Tlie  venerable 
edifice  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  January,  1814,  except- 
ing its  walls  ;  but  was  rebuilt  the  next  year.  The 
writer,  then  a  child,  and  living  in  John  street,  well 
remembers  that  burning,  from  the  peculiar  and  brilliant 
efifect  of  the  fire  upon  the  snow  falling  at  the  moment. 

St.  George's  has  been  the  spiritual  home  of  many  lib- 
eral, useful,  and  pious  Christians.  Here,  for  a  long 
time,  lived,  and  labored,  and  died,  near  God's  holy 
altars,  that  eminent  servant  of  Christ,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Milnor.  His  j)arsonage  was  next  to  the  church,  and 
from  its  hallowed  walls  he  was  buried.  Here,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Tyng  fearlessly  preached  the  truth,  until  he  removed 
to  his  magnificent  church  at  Stuy  vesant  Park.  General 
Washington  was  a  frequent  attendant  at  St.  George's 
during  his  revolutionary  residence  in  New  York.  Next 
to  the  Middle  Dutch  (Post-ofiice),  this  is  now  the  oldest 
sacred  temple  in  our  city. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  St.  George's  still  belonged 
to  Trinity  Parish.  In  1747,  Mr.  Charlton  was  removed 
to  St.  Andrew's,  Staten  Island,  when  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Auchmuty  took  liis  place  as  catecliist  to  the  blacks,  with 
directions  to  assist  the  rector.  The  appointment  was 
made  at  the  particular  request  of  Governor  Clinton. 


I 


St.  George"8  Chapel,  Beekman  Street,  N.  Y. 
Ei-ected  1752. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  73 

H(3  was  born  in  Boston,  and  educated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  ordained  by  the  Bisliop  of  London.  On  Fri- 
day afternoons  he  gave  catechetical  lectures  in  St. 
George's  Chapel. 

In  the  year  1753,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnston,  of 
Stratford,  was  called  as  an  assistant  minister  of  Trinity, 
with  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  an- 
num. In  consequence  of  his  advanced  years,  and  his 
professorship  in  Columbia  College,  he  was  to  read 
prayers  only  on  Sundays,  and  preach  one  Sabbath  in  a 
month.  Gulian  C.  Verplanck,  an  honored  JS^ew  Yorker, 
is  his  great-grandson,  and  is,  we  believe,  now  a  vestry- 
man of  Trinity.  He  has  Avritten  a  memoir  of  this  distin- 
guished clergyman.-'-  Mr.  Johnston  was  educated  at  the 
College  of  Connecticut,  then  at  Saybrook  ;  and  in  171 G, 
became  a  teacher  in  the  institution  removed  to  New 
Haven.  He  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Cono;reo:a- 
tional  Church  in  1720,  and  settled  at  West  Haven.  At 
that  period  the  Independent  Calvinistic  Church  was  the 
only  sect  known  and  tolerated  in  the  colony.  But  after 
long  and  laborious  investigation  of  the  controversy  be- 
tween his  own  and  the  Church  of  England,  he  changed 
his  views,  and  joined  the  latter.  He  was  admitted  to 
priest's  orders  in  England,  and,  returning  to  America, 
settled  as  a  missionary  at  Hartford.  He  was  for  some 
time  the  only  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
the  colony,  and'  was  the  pastor  of  the  first  Ej^iscopal 
church  in  Connecticut. 

In  1729,  a  remarkable  circumstance  occurred  in  the  life 
of  Mr.  Johnston.     Dean  Berkeley,  afterwards  Bishop, 

■■'  Churchman's  Jla^'-azhie,  ISIJ. 


74  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

A^isited  America,  when  similar  views  and  studies  pro- 
duced an  intimate  acquaintance  "between  them,  which 
continued  until  the  death  of  the  Bishop,  in  1752.  In  1743, 
through  the  recommendation  of  Archbishop  Seeker,  the 
University  of  Oxford  conferred  on  Mr.  Johnston  the 
degree  of  D.  D.  This  was  indeed  a  literary  honor  from 
that  ancient  university,  and  never  lavishly  bestowed. 
There  it  is  still  regarded  with  high  respect,  cheap  as  such 
' '  degrees' '  are  now  in  our  own  land.  In  1753,  a  charter 
was  obtained  for  old  Columbia  College,  when  Dr.  John- 
ston became  its  president ;  and  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1754,  he  commenced  the  collegiate  course  with  a  class 
of  twelve  students.  What  multitudes  since  have  grad- 
uated from  her  venerable  classical  walls ;  and  among 
them  have  been  some  of  the  master  spirits  in  our  land. 
For  nine  years  he  filled  his  mij)ortant  stations  with 
ability,  but  his  age  and  inlirmities  increasing,  he  re- 
signed these  in  1763,  retiring  to  Stratford,  Connecticut. 
In  this  quiet  country  retreat,  he  once  more  resumed  the 
duties  of  a  parish  priest,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  with  the 
same  zeal  he  had  manifested  forty  years  before.  After  a 
short  indisposition,  in  1772^  he  expired  without  a  strug- 
gle, and  his  remains  were  interred  in  the  burying-ground 
of  his  church,  where  a  neat  monument  was  erected  to 
his  memory,  with  a  Latin  inscription,  by  his  grandson, 
AVilliam  Samuel  Johnston. 

Dr.  Johnston  was  warmly  attached  to  the  Church  of 
England  in  her  present  form.  His  controversial  writings 
exhibit  a  spirit  of  mildness  and  urbanity  very  delight- 
ful, and  too  seldom  found  in  polemic  theology.  In 
17G1,  the  vestry  of  Trinity  voted  five  hundred  pounds 


EARLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  75 

towards  purchasing  a  new  organ,  several  gentlemen 
proposing  to  increase  tlie  sum  to  seven  hundred  guineas. 
A  Mr.  Thomas  Harrison  was  organist,  with  a  salary  of 
eighteen  pounds,  current  money  of  New  York,  ^yer 
quarter,  to  commence  the  first  Sunday  he  should  begin 
to  "j^lay."  Old  Trinity  has  always  had  fine  choral 
singing,  and  she  still  maintains  this  reputation.  We 
do  not  admire  the  intoning  of  her  sublime  services, 
as  a  mere  matter  of  taste,  but  her  solemn  chants  and 
singing  boys,  to  our  non-Episcopal  ears,  are  most  im- 
pressive and  refreshing.  Reader,  we  love  music,  and 
pardon  this  digression  I 

The  next  event  in  the  history  of  Trinity  Church  was 
the  death  of  Dr.  Barclay,  its  rector,  in  1764.  He  exhib- 
ited ardor  and  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  ;  he 
was  meek,  sweet-tempered,  devout,  and  his  life  exem- 
plary. During  his  incumbency,  St.  George's  Chapel 
was  built  and  St.  Paul's  designed.  Immediately  upon 
his  death,  the  Rev.  Samuel  i\uchmuty  was  chosen  to  fill 
his  place.  The  Rev.  Charles  Inglis  was  called  to  be  his 
assistant,  with  a  salary  of  two  hundred  pounds  per  an- 
num, and  "twenty  pistoles  for  travelling  expenses."  A 
second  assistant  was  thought  necessary,  when  the  Rev. 
John  Ogilvie  received  the  appointment,  with  the  same 
salary,  and  entered  on  his  duties  in  1765.  Mr.  Inglis 
commenced  life  as  a  teacher  in  the  Free  School,  Lancas- 
ter, Pennsylvania,  was  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, and  settled  at  Dover,  Maryland.  Here  he  minis- 
tered during  six  years,  baptizing  seven  hundred  and 
fiftj^-six  children,  and,  with  "unwearied  diligence," 
"attended  four  churches." 


76  EAELIEST   CHUECHES   IX   ]S^EW   YOKK. 

Mr.  Ogilvie  was  educated  at  Yale  College,  and  had 
been  a  devoted  missionary  among  the  Moliawks  for 
seven  j^ears.  Early  in  life  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
service  of  God' s  altar,  and  with  unwearied  industry  he 
discliarged  the  duties  of  his  sacred  office.  His  conduct 
was  regulated  by  the  calm  dictates  of  prudence,  benevo- 
lence, and  piety ;  hence  few  clergymen  were  so  useful 
or  beloved.  This  good  rector  literally  fell  at  the  altar 
of  the  Lord.  Going  to  chui^ch,  as  was  his  practice  on 
Fridays,  and  aj)parently  in  good  health,  he  read  prayers 
and  baj^tized  a  child.  He  gave  out  his  text:  "Tlie  Lord 
is  upright.  He  is  my  rod,  and  there  is  no  unrighteous- 
ness in  Him,"  and  this  was  his  last  message  on  eartli. 
The  unfinished  sentence  hung  upon  his  dying  lips  ;  but 
his  Master  came,  and  his  work  in  the  sanctuary  was 
forever  finished.  Deprived  of  speech  by  apoplexy,  he 
languished  several  days,  and,  without  struggle  or  groan, 
calmly  passed  away,  November  20,  1774,  aged  fifty-one 
years.  He  bequeathed  three  hundred  ^Dounds  to  the 
Charity  School,  one  hundred  pounds  to  King's  (Colum- 
bia) College,  and  one  hundred  pounds  to  the  widows 
and  children  of  clergymen.  Thus  he  exhibited  in  death 
the  same  attention  to  the  happiness  of  his  fellow-men 
which  had  regulated  his  conduct  through  life. 

Trinity  Parish  gained  so  much  in  ten  years  that  it 
became  necessary  to  provide  another  chapel  for  its 
increasing  members.  St.  Paul's  was  accordingly  com- 
menced in  1763,  just  a  century  ago,  and  completed  in 
1766.  In  arclntectural  design  and  beauty,  it  was  une- 
qualled, at  that  period,  througliout  the  land  ;  and,  for 
its  characteristic  style,  we  do  not  think  surpassed,  even 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  77 

ill  our  own  day  of  boasted  progress.  Some  tliink  the 
representation  of  the  giving  of  the  Law  at  Mount  Sinai, 
directly  over  the  altar,  is  inappi'opriate  and  objection- 
able ;  but  this  is  a  mere  matter  of  taste.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful work.  St.  Paul' s  was  opened  October  30,  1766,  and 
the  dedication  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Auchmuty. 
After  General  Washington  was  inaugurated,  at  the  old 
City  Hall,  Broad  street,  he  retired  to  St.  Paul' s,  with  his 
officers,  to  unite  in  suitable  religious  services.  There, 
too,  that  great  man  frequently  received  the  Communion 
of  the  Lord' s  Supper.  Alas  !  alas  !  who  of  his  succes- 
sors, in  their  resjponsible  office,  imitates  his  pious  exam- 
ple !  In  1774,  the  Rev.  John  Vardill  was  called  as  an 
assistant  minister  in  Trinity.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that 
he  was  the  god-father  of  that  excellent  citizen,  General 
Laight.  Mr.  Yardill  then  in  England,  and  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle  going  on,  he  never  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  sacred  office.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bowdeu  were  also  called  as  assistant 
ministers  in  Trinity.  Soon  after  this  period  the  trouble- 
some times  of  the  Revolution  came  on,  when  the  ' '  Eng- 
lish clergy"  exj)erienced  severe  trials.  They  belonged 
to  the  "Church  of  England,"  and,  of  course,  had  their 
loyal  feelings  ;  and  this  fact  often  brought  them  into 
difficulties,  and  even  persecution.  The  Declaration  of 
Independence  greatly  increased  their  trials,  as  not  to 
pray  for  the  King  and  the  royal  family,  according  to  the 
Liturgy,  was  contrary  to  their  conscience,  oath,  and 
duty ;  and  to  use  such  prayers  would  have  provoked 
inevitable  destruction.  To  avoid  both  these  evils,  the 
only  course  was  either  flight  or  closing  their  churches. 


78  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Tlie  last  became  -universal,  witli  the  exception  of  tlie 
venerable  Mr.  Beach,  of  Connecticut.  He  was  a  bold 
Churchman,  ofRciating  as  usual,  and  declaring  that  he 
would  pray  and  preach  for  his  King  until  his  tongue 
should  be  cut  out.  Strange  enough,  he  was  never  dis- 
turbed in  his  loyalty  ;  l)ut  notwithstanding  all  his  loyal 
preaching  and  praying,  down  went  the  royal  power,  and 
with  it  an  "Established  Church"  in  America. 

When  the  Americans  took  possession  of  New  York, 
most  of  the  royalists  retired  into  the  country.  Mr.  Inglis 
removed  his  family,  for  safety,  up  the  Hudson,  and  Dr. 
Auchmuty  sought  a  home  with  his  at  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey.  The  British  agaiu  possessing  New  York, 
in  1776,  Dr.  Auchmuty  returned  once  more  to  the  city. 
Searching  the  rubbish  of  his  late  venerable  church  and 
his  own  house,  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  of  September, 
he  found,  the  church  plate,  with  a  few  trifles.  Divine 
Providence  had  preserved  him  two  chapels— St.  George' s 
and  St.  Paul's — where  he  commenced  religious  services 
again. 

In  the  midst  of  these  troubles  of  war,  the  rector,  Dr. 
Auchmuty,  was  taken  to  his  eternal  rest,  March  4,  1777, 
Mr.  Inglis  preaching  the  funeral  sermon  on  the  9th.  It 
was  delivered  in  St.  Paul's,  which  he  had  consecrated 
to  the  Almighty,  and  where  he  had  declared  his  last 
message,  two  days  before  his  fatal  illness.  He  was  a 
man  of  humane  and  benevolent  heart,  an  affectionate 
friend  and  husband,  and  a  faithful  minister.  His  mind 
clear  to  the  last,  he  united  in  fervent  prayer  a  few 
moments  before  he  expired,  and  without  a  struggle  or  a 
groan,  finished  his  course.     Happy  end  of  a  -plows  life ! 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  79 

Mr.  Hilclretlrs  deatli,  tlie  catecMst,  followed  the  next 
year,  when  Mr.  Amos  Bull  succeeded  him,  in  1777. 

The  British  evacuated  the  city  on  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1783,  and  "Evacuation  Day"  is  still  celebrated, 
yearly,  by  a  military  parade.  This  event  had  been 
delayed  some,  to  afford  the  "Loyalists"  ample  time  to 
remove  from  the  country.  Dr.  Inglis,  rector  of  Trinity, 
was  a  fearless  and  conscientious  "Loyalist,"  but  very 
obnoxious  to  the  "Rebels,"  as  he  called  the  Americans. 
He  resigned  his  rectorship,  November  1,  1783,  and  left 
for  Nova  Scotia — the  wisest  thing  he'  could  have  done. 
The  wardens  and  vestrymen  forthwith  elected  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  Moore  their  new  rector — a  "Tory,"  though 
not  so  obnoxious  as  Dr.  Inglis. 

When  the  Whigs,  however,  returned  to  the  city,  in 
November,  from  their  long  seven  years'  banishment, 
the  Churchmen  among  them  became  indignant  that  they 
should  have  a  new  Tor}'-  rector ;  and  they  soon  peti- 
tioned the  State  Legislature  that  a  new  election  might 
be  held.  This  valuable  and  curious  document  is  still  in 
existence.  We  find  some  well-known  family  names 
among  its  signers : — Cornelius  Haight,  John  Rutherford, 
Thomas  Lewis,  Robert  Thompson,  Anthony  L.  Bleecker, 
William  Duer,  Edward  Fleming,  George  Leaycraft,  John 
Pintard,  Lewis  Graham,  Simon  Schermerhorn,  Robert 
Troop,  Marinus  WiUett,  Richard  Deane,  Anthony  Rut- 
gers, Jacob  Leonard,  Thomas  Hammond,  William  Deane, 
Edward  Dunscomb,  Sam'l  Johnson,  Thos.  Tucker,  John 
De  La  Mater,  John  Holt,  Jacob  Morris,  Thos,  Smith,  David 
Provoost,  J.  Fairlie,  Anthony  Lispeuard,  Theodore  Fow- 
ler, John  Bailey,  Samuel  Gilford,  Daniel  Dunscomb,  &c. 


80  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  yi. 

ST.     GEORGES     BURNED     IN     1814 REBUILT     BY     THE     LIBERALITY     OF 

TRINITY BENJAMIN     T.    ONDERDONK     AN     ASSISTANT     RECTOR MR. 

HOBART,    ASSISTANT    OF    BISHOP    MOORE SKETCH    OF    THE     BISHOP 

MR.    HOBART,    A    ^VARM     CHURCHMAN,     ELECTKD      BISHOP,     1811 HIS 

DEATH,     1830 DR.     BERRIAN     ELECTED     RECTOR     OF     TRINITY,     REV. 

HENRY  ANTHON    AND    DR.  J.  M.  WAINWRIGHT,  ASSISTANT  MINISTERS 

DR.    WAINAVRIGHT     BECOMES     BISHOP,     AND     THE     REV.     EDWARD     G. 

HIGBEE  AN  ASSISTANT    MINISTER   OF  TRINITY BISHOP  ONDERDONK 

THE    PRESENT    BEAUTIFUL  TRINITY  ERECTED,  AND    CONSECRATED    MAY 
21,   1846 REV.  THOMAS    C.   BROWNELL. 

After  the  very  great  liberality  of  Trinity  to  St. 
George's,  a  severe  calamity  occurred  in  her  history — 
the  fire  of  1814.  Old  Trinity,  as  usual,  extended  the 
helping  hand,  offering  to  rebuild  St.  George's,  except 
its  steeple,  which  was  to  be  replaced  by  a  tower. 
Trinity  also  reserved  the  right  of  selling  at  auction  all 
the  pews  on  the  ground  floor,  except  twelve  near  the 
doors,  subject  to  a  reasonable  rent,  and  the  proceeds 
should  be  appropriated  towards  the  reimbursement  of 
the  expenses  of  the  new  buildings.  The  twelve  pews, 
with  all  in  the  galleries,  were  to  be  disposed  of  by  the 
vestry  of  St.  George' s. 

Soon  after  this  the  burying-ground  was  enlarged,  by 
the  payment  by  Trinity  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars  for 
some  adjoining  lands,  and  a  dwelling-house  was  also 
provided   for   tlie    ix^ctor.      These    benefactions   to    St. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  81 

George's  are  estimated  at  not  less  than  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  should  never 
be  forgotten  by  those  worshipping  on  that  sacred  spot  in 
Beekman  street. 

On  tlie  30th  of  October,  1813,  the  Eev.  Benjamin  T. 
Onderdouk  was  made  the  assistant  rector  of  Trinity,  and 
during  that  year  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beach  resigned  the  same 
place,  wiien  the  vestry  granted  him  an  annuity  of  fif- 
teen hundred  dollars  a  year  for  life.  He  appears  to 
liave  been  among  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  pursuing  a 
noiseless  course  of  usefulness  in  his  parish  for  twenty- 
nine  years,  and  retiring  from  it  without  reproach.  This 
commendation  is  infinitely  better  tlian  that  wliich  is 
sometimes  bestowed  upon  greater  dignitaries  in  the 
Church.  His  old  age  was  spent  in  quiet  retirement  on 
his  farm,  near  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  and  ho 
died  aged  eighty-eight  years.  On  the  12th  of  April, 
1813,  the  Right  Rev.  Mr.  Hobart  was  made  the  assistant 
of  Bishop  INIoore.  Tliis  prelate  died  on  the  27th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1816,  the  vestry  of  Trinity  attending  his  funeral ; 
and  the  church,  -with  its  chapels,  were  hung  in  mourning. 

Bishop  Moore  was  a  native  of  Newtown,  Long  Island, 
and  Avas  born  October  5,  1748.  He  graduated  from 
King's  (Columbia)  College,  and  afterwards  became  its 
president  for  many  years.  He  pursued  his  divinity 
studies  under  Dr.  Auchmut}^  went  to  England  in  1744, 
and  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Tenick,  of  London,  the 
same  year.  Next,  he  was  appointed,  with  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Bowden,  an  assistant  minister  of  Trinity,  afterwards 
rector  in  1800,  and  then,  in  1801,  consecrated  Bishop. 
Simplicity  of  diaracter,  with  uniform  prudence,  are  said 
6 


82  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IJ^   NEW   YORK. 

to  have  "been  his  distinguished  virtues.  In  Christian 
labors  he  was  very  abundant,  the  parisli  register  stating 
that  in  thirty-five  years  he  celebrated  no  less  than  three 
thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight  marriages,  and 
baptized  three  thousand  and  sixty-four  children  and 
adults.  After  frequent  attacks  of  paralysis,  he  expired 
at  his  residence,  Greenwich  Village,  then  near  our  city,  on 
the  27th  of  February,  1816,  aged  sixty-eight.  Upon  his 
decease.  Bishop  Hobart  was  elected,  in  1816,  Ms  succes- 
sor in  the  rectorship  of  Trinity. 

In  1798,  Mr.  Hobart  returned  to  Pliiladelplua,  and  was 
ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  White,  and  elder,  by  Bishop 
Provoost,  in  April,  1801.  He  commenced  preaching  in 
the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  and  then  accepted  an  invi- 
tation to  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick.  His  next 
parisli  was  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island.  In  1800,  he 
married  Miss  Chandler,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chan- 
dler, eminent  for  his  services  to  his  Church,  at  home  and 
abroad.  Mr.  Hobart  was  soon  drawn  from  his  rural 
charge,  to  be  an  assistant  minister  in  Trinity.  Many 
now  remember  his  youthful  zeal,  eloquence,  and  fervor 
in  the  sacred  desk,  which,  in  after  years,  were  sobered 
into  a  more  practical  improvement  of  his  subject,  and 
this  he  considered  the  great  end  of  preaching. 

Bishop  Hobart  was  a  strong  and  able  Churchman, 
and  warmly  attached  to  the  distinctive  principles  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  Through  evil  as  well  as  good 
report,  he  always  manifested  a  bold,  active,  and  perseve- 
ring defence  of  them.  Pro  Ecclesia  Dei,  he  adopted  as 
the  standard  of  his  wishes,  duties,  labors,  and  prayers. 

In  1811,  a  special  convention  was  called  to  provide  an 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  83 

assistant  to  Bisliop  Moore,  when  a  violent  opposition 
manifested  itself  against  Mr.  Hobart  for  the  office.  He 
was  elected,  however,  by  a  triumphant  majority,  and 
was  consecrated,  in  Trinity,  May  29,  1811.  Bishop 
White  was  the  consecrator,  Bishops  Provoost  and 
Jarvis  assisting.  After  this  period  his  life  was  devoted 
to  the  active  and  unwearied  discharge  of  his  important 
duties.  In  contending  for  Episcopacy,  as  the  primitive 
pattern  of  the  Church,  and  the  appointment  of  God,  as 
he  had  a  right  to  do,  he  was  reproached  and  assailed 
on  all  sides.  But  nothing  moved  him.  He  even  dis- 
couraged all  amalgamation  with  other  denominations  for 
religious  purposes.  This,  of  course,  was  High  Church- 
ism,  and  his  views  were  not  generally  obeyed  by  his 
own  clergy  and  people  in  his  day,  nor  have  they  been 
since. 

In  June,  1824,  the  Rev.  John  D.  Schroeder,  D.  D.,  was 
elected  assistant  rector  of  Trinity,  remaining  fifteen 
years,  and  died  in  1839. 

Bishop  Hobart  died  at  Auburn  on  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1830.  Like  the  venerable  and  good  Bishop  Moore, 
of  Virginia,  he  was  on  his  Master's  work,  away  from 
family,  and  home,  and  nearest  friends,  when  the  Lord 
called  him  to  the  promised  land  of  rest.  He  was  fifty- 
five  years  old,  and  his  remains  were  deposited  beneath 
the  chancel  of  Trinity  Church.  In  a  recess,  a  large  and 
magnificent  monument  has  been  erected  to  his  memory, 
beautifully  adorned  in  hasso  relievo,  with  a  striking  em- 
blematical representation  of  the  consolation  and  hopes 
of  religion.  The  monument  has  a  proper  inscription. 
His  widow  received  an  annuity  of  two  thousand  dollars. 


84  EAELIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

during  her  life  ;  and  three  hundred  dollars  were  appro- 
priated for  the  education  of  the  youngest  son,  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  Dr.  Berrian  preached  the 
funeral  sermon,  and  prepared  a  memorial  of  his  life. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Brownell  was  made  an  assistant 
minister  of  Trinity,  June  11,  1818,  and  during  the  year 
he  was  elected  Bishop  of  Connecticut,  where,  for  many 
years,  he  faithfully  discharged  the  EpiscojDal  duties. 

The  rectory  of  Trinity,  vacant  by  the  death  of  the 
Bishop,  was  supplied  in  the  election  of  Dr.  Berrian,  who 
has  recently  been  called  to  his  home  on  high,  after  a 
long,  constant,  useful  life  in  his  Master's  vineyard.  In 
January,  1831,  the  Rev.  Henrj^  Anthon  was  made  an 
assistant  minister  of  Trinity,  continuing  this  connection 
until  December,  1836,  when  he  was  made  rector  of  St. 
Mark's.  Here  he  discharged  his  sacred  work  with  stri- 
king diligence  and  success,  universally  loved ;  and  he 
also  has  recently  gone  to  the  heavenly  mansion. 

In  1836,  Dr.  J.  M.  Wainwright  was  appointed  an 
assistant  minister  of  Trinity,  subsequently  became 
bishop,  and  now  likewise  rests  from  his  toils.  We 
need  say  nothing  about  him,  as  he  was  one  of  our  day, 
and  all  loved  the  excellent  Bishop.  During  the  same 
year  the  Rev.  Edward  G.  Higbee  was  appointed  an 
assistant  minister  of  Trinity. 

In  1836,  Bishop  Onderdonk's  connection  with  Trinity 
was  dissolved — the  "Episcopal  Fund"  having  reached 
an  amount  sufRcient,  of  itself,  to  support  this  officer  of 
the  Church.  In  his  best  days  the  Bishop  was  indefati- 
gable in  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties — a  faithful 
pastor,  going  about  doing  good,  especially  among  the 


EARLIEST  CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  85 

sick,  the  needy,  and  the  distressed.  But  the  best,  we 
doubt  not, 

"May  depart  from  graces  given;" 

and  we  all  know  the  disposition  of  the  mind  to  point  out 
human  frailties,  but  we  do  not  wish  to  indulge  in  this 
temper.  We  adopt  those  beautiful  lines  of  Gray,  and 
will  not 

"  Draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode, 

Where  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose — 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 

During  the  year  1839  it  was  discovered  that  the  roof 
of  Trinity,  yielding  to  the  accumulated  pressure  of  the 
snow,  had  swerved  some,  and  it  was  resolved  to  build  a 
new  one.  But,  as  this  would  not  likely  mend  the  diffi- 
culty, it  was  now  determined  to  take  down  the  church, 
and  erect  in  its  place  a  third  one,  of  more  massive  and 
enduring  character.  This  is  the  present  beautiful  Trin- 
ity, a  magnificent  temple,  having  no  equal  in  our  land, 
and  since  the  Reformation,  with  the  ojiinion  of  many,  has 
seldom,  if  ever,  been  surpassed  by  other  countries.  The 
old  Trinit}^,  of  which  we  have  been  discoursing  so  long, 
was  pulled  down  during  the  summer  of  1839.  Concise 
as  we  have  studied  to  be,  once  carefully  engaged  in  our 
sketch,  we  could  not  make  it  shorter,  with  justice  to  the 
subject. 

The  new  Trinity  was  begun  in  the  autumn  of  1839, 
and  was  not  completed  and  ready  for  consecration  before 
May  21,  1846.  Its  consecration  awakened  general  and 
unusual  interest.  Some  families,  for  past  and  present 
.generations,  had  been  connected  with  its  sacred  history. 


86  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  EARLY  REGARDED  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF 
SCHOOLS A  SCHOOL  AT  FIRST  HELD  IN  THE  BELFRY BENEFAC- 
TIONS   TO    THE     SCHOOL,    AND    A    HOUSE    BUILT     ON     RECTOR     STREET 

THE      NEW      EDIFICE      IN     VARICK      STREET ORIGIN      OF      KINg's, 

AFTERWARDS      COLUMBIA,     COLLEGE THE     "  KINg's      FARm" MORE 

NOTICE    OF    THE     COLLEGE— TWENTY-FIVE    THOUSAND     DOLLAR     LEG- 
ACY   TO    IT    FROM    MR.    MURRAY ITS    FIRST    CLASS. 

The  Episcopal  Church,  like  the  Eeformed  Dutch,  at  a 
very  early  period  in  its  New  York  history,  manifested 
great  concern  in  the  religious  instruction  of  the  young  and 
ignorant.  A  school  was  founded  in  Trinity  Parish  during 
1709,  and  partly  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  At 
a  later  period,  it  received  from  the  Corporation  of  Trinity 
that  ample  endo^vment  which,  with  the  contributions  of 
individuals,  secured  for  it  stability  and  permanency. 

The  schoolmasters  received  about  fifteen  pounds  ster- 
ling from  the  venerable  society,  with  fifteen  or  twenty 
pounds  New  York  currency,  as  clerks  of  Trinit}^  Church. 
Until  the  year  1748,  the  school-rooms  were  probably 
hired.  In  that  year,  however,  the  vestry  ordered  a  char- 
ity school  to  be  built  near  Trinit}^,  and,  until  its  comple- 
tion, Mr.  Hildreth  had  leave  to  keep  his  school  in  the 
belfry  of  Trinity.  The  school  was  no  sooner  finished 
than,  by  some  unaccountable  accident,  it  was  burned  to 
the  ground.     The  fire  was  also  communicated  to  the  spire 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  87 

of  Trinity,  when,  likely,  the  whole  sacred  edifice  would 
have  "been  destroyed,  but  for  the  active  and  bold  exer- 
tions of  some  persons  who  extinguished  the  flames. 
Upon  suitable  inquiry,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  first 
man  in  the  steeple  was  David  Kent,  who  put  out  the 
"two  lowermost  fires,"  assisted  "  by  a  fat  man,  who 
soon  went  away."  These,  with  several  others,  succeeded 
in  extinguishing  the  threatening  flames,  and  received 
fifty  pounds  from  the  church- wardens  for  "their  good 
service." 

The  church  school-house  was  soon  rebuilt,  at  a  cost 
of  four  hundred  pounds,  and  its  first  misfortune  rendered 
the  undertaking  more  popular,  as  contributions  came 
from  all  sides.     The  Free  Masons  gave  fifteen  pounds 
towards  clothing  the  children.    A  Mrs.  Field  bequeathed 
to  the  school  five  hundred  pounds;    Captain  Thomas 
Eandall  presented  a  bell ;  and  Mr.  Alexander  Troup,  a 
large  legacy.     Mrs.  Elizabeth  Sharpas  left  two  hundred 
pounds  for  the  use  of  the  charity  school,  and  Mrs.  Fran- 
ces Auboyneau  four  hundred  pounds.     The  husbands 
of  these  two  liberal  ladies  had  been  vestrymen  of  Trin- 
ity.   Another  noble  legacy  came  from  the  estate  of  the 
Hon.  John  Chambers,  for  thirty-eight  years  a  warden  of 
the  cliurch.     It  was  paid  by  his  wife,  to  Avhom  the  ves- 
try voted  thanks,   with  a  request  that  "she  will   be 
pleased  to  consent  that  some  public  monument  be  erected 
at  the  expense  of  this  corporation."     When  this  excel- 
lent lady  died,  she  exhibited  another  proof  of  her  kind- 
ness to  this  charity  school,  in  a  legacy  of  five  hundred 
pounds,  its  interest  to  be  paid  "towards  the  support  of 
the  girls  only. ' '    Not  long  after,  tliere  was  another  devise 


88  EARLIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN  NEW   YOEK. 

of  five  hundred  pounds  from  Mr.  Elias  Desbrosses,  who 
had  been  a  vestryman  for  twenty-two  years.  Next  fol- 
lowed a  legacy  of  two  hundred  pounds  from  Mrs.  Marga- 
ret Todd,  and  a  large  one  from  Mr.  Nathaniel  Marston'  s 
estate,  who  was  for  forty  years  a  warden  and  vestryman 
of  Trinity  Church.  About  this  period  several  other  gifts 
were  received  towards  this  good  work,  and  among  these, 
one  from  John  Stratford  Jones,  of  one  hundred  and 
eightj^-four  pounds  twelve  shillings  and  ten  j^ence  ;  and 
another  of  one  hundred  pounds,  a  benefaction  of  the  city 
corporation. 

In  the  year  1795,  a  plan  was  reported  to  convey,  in 
trust,  certain  property  of  Trinity  Church  for  the  charity 
school,  when  eight  lots  of  ground  on  Lumber,  near  Rec- 
tor street,  were  thus  granted  to  it.  Soon  after,  however, 
bonds  and  mortgages,  to  the  amount  of  tliree  thousand 
pounds,  were  substituted  for  these  lots,  with  a  donation 
of  one  thousand  dollars  from  the  vestry  of  Trinity,  and 
this  was  followed  by  a  State  apj^ropriation. 

At  this  period,  the  New  York  Free  School  Society  inter- 
fered materially  with  the  original  plan  of  this  Episcopal 
institution,  which  was  designed  to  bring  up  children  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  and  agreeably 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  It 
was  now  deemed  expedient  to  introduce  into  the  school 
the  higher  branches  of  English  studies,  Avitli  classical 
learning,  under  the  name  of  the  New  York  Protestant 
Episcopal  Public  School.  Its  grand  feature  of  religious 
instru(;tion  was,  however,  preserved ;  it  now  came  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  Bishop. 

Soon  after  tliis,  John  G.  Leake  made  a  donation  of  one 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  89 

thousand  dollars  to  it,  and  in  tlie  year  1832  the  vestry  of 
Trinitj^  granted  a  lease  to  its  trustees  of  five  lots  on 
Canal,  Varick,  and  Grand  streets,  where  the  Institution 
now  stands,  the  balance,  by  rentals,  bringing  in  an  in- 
come to  the  Board.  In  1845  the  school  underwent  some 
other  modifications,  receiving  the  name  of  "Trinity 
School,"  and  is  now  among  the  most  flourishing  and 
useful  literary  institutions  of  the  city. 

In  the  original  endowment  of  Trinity  by  the  colonial 
government,  it  evidently  appears  to  have  been  the  inten- 
tion to  promote  both  learning  and  religion. 

As  early  as  the  year  1752,  the  rector  and  church-war- 
dens of  Trinity  parish  waited  upon  Lord  Cornbury,  the 
governor  of  the  New  York  colony,  to  ascertain  what 
portion  of  the  "King's  Farm"  his  Lordship  designed  to 
appropriate  towards  the  "  colledge  which  his  Lord^. 
designs  to  have  built."  The  origin  of  old  "King's," 
afterwards  "Columbia,"  can  thus  be  traced  to  the  exer- 
tions of  Trinity  Church.  No  eflectual  measures,  how- 
ever, were  adopted  for  this  purpose,  until  almost  half  a 
century  afterwards.  In  1754,  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  "receive  proposalls  for  the  building  of  a 
college. ' ' 

The  "King's  Faim"  had  now  been  vested  in  Trinity 
Church,  and  its  vestry  gave  lands  for  the  erection  of  the 
college.  "  That  is  to  say,  a  street  of  ninety  feet  from  the 
Broadway  to  Cliurch  street,  and  from  Church  street 
all  the  lands  between  Barclay's  street  and  Murray's 
street  to  the  water  side,  upon  this  condition,  that  the 
President  of  the  said  Colledge  forever,  for  the  time  being, 
be  a  member  of  and  in  communion  with  the  Church  of 


90  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

England,  and  that  the  Morning  and  Evening  service  in 
said  Colledge  "be  the  Liturgy  of  the  said  Church,  or  such 
a  collection  of  prayers  out  of  the  said  Liturgy,  as  shall 
be  agreed  upon  by  the  President  or  Trustees  or  Gov- 
eruours  of  the  said  Colledge.'- 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  fault  found  by  illiberal 
sectarians  with  these  provisions  ;  but  the  cause  of  their 
adoption  is  most  satisfactorily  exjDlained  in  the  letter 
from  the  Yestry  of  Trinity,  at  the  moment,  to  the  Rev. 
D.  Bearcroft,  secretary  of  the  "Venerable  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.''  It  says:  "We  never 
insisted  on  any  condition,  till  we  found  some  persons 
laboring  to  exclude  all  systems  of  religion  out  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  College.  When  we  discovered  this 
design,  we  thought  ourselves  indispensably  obliged  to 
interpose,  and  have  had  the  countenance  of  many  good 
men  of  all  denominations,  and  in  particular  the  ministers 
of  the  Foreign  Protestant  Churches  in  this  city,  who  are 
appointed  Governors  of  the  College,  and  continue  hearty 
friends  to  it."  Thanks  to  the  founders  of  this  venerable 
and  eminent  seat  of  learning,  for  laying  its  corner-stone 
on  the  firm  basis  of  morality  and  religion  !  The  writer 
is  no  Churchman.  At  this  period  there  were  three  semi- 
naries among  the  "Dissenters"  of  the  Northern  colonies, 
and  sectarian  in  their  character.  "  Yale  College"  sub- 
jected its  students  "to  a  fine  as  often  as  they  attend 
Public  Worship  in  the  Church  of  England,  communi- 
cants only  except<^d,  and  that  only  on  Cliristmas  and 
tSacrament  days."*    Well  miglit  Churchmen  of  tliat  day 

*  Letter  to  Dr.  Bearcroft,  (juoted  by  Dr.  Berdan.  History  of  Trinity  Church, 
p.  103. 


EARLIEST   CHITRCIIES   IN   NEW   YOKK.  91 

complain  of  this  narrowness  and  bigotiy  in  early  New 
England  orthodoxy,  which  thus  laid  such  a  restraint  on 
other  men's  consciences.  The  origin  of  the  prejudice 
against  King  s  College  can  easily  he  traced  to  the  fear 
lest  it  should  become,  in  the  New  York  colony,  an  in- 
strument of  the  Established  Church  of  England.  Tliis 
resistance  really  caused  a  delay  of  more  than  two  years 
in  obtaining  a  charter  from  the  Legislature.  What  was 
still  more  prejudicial,  it  diverted  one-half  of  certain 
funds  voted  by  that  legislative  body  to  the  college,  but 
which  were  eventually  divided  between  the  institution 
and  the  city  corporation.  Tlie  grant,  and  its  conditions 
by  Trinity  Church,  to  the  college,  of  a  portion  of  the 
"King's  Farm,"  seemed  to  make  the  institution  ex- 
clusively Episcopalian.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
no  such  advantage  or  preference  was  ever  manifested, 
nor  has  it  ever  been  charged.  The  very  first  act  of  the 
governors  of  King' s  College,  on  the  motion  of  tlie  Rev. 
Mr.  Ritzema,  minister  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 
was  to  adopt  a  resolution  to  establish  a  professorship  of 
Divinity  "for  the  education  of  such  youth  as  might  be 
intended  for  the  ministry  in  that  Church."  This  request 
granted,  the  professorship  was  established  "according 
to  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship  established  by 
the  National  Synod  of  Dort."  This  is  decisive  proof  of 
the  thoroughly  liberal  and  catholic  spirit  of  the  college. 
Practically,  too,  the  institution  has  not  been  exclusive. 
When  it  was  desired  to  secure  the  services  of  the  elo- 
quent Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  the  office  of  provost  was  spe- 
cially^ created,  to  place  him  at  the  head  and  direction 
of  the  college.     And  to  comply  with  the  language  of  the 


92  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

charter,  the  merely  honorar}^  oflfice  of  president,  at  the 
time,  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  a  most 
excellent,  exemplary  clergyman  of  the  Episco2:)al  Church. 
When  Dr.  Mason  resigned,  the  office  of  provost  was 
abolished,  and  the  original  duties  of  the  presidency 
vested  in  Dr.  Harris,  who  for  many  3'ears  most  efficiently 
discharged  its  duties.  The  well  known  and  respected 
Hon.  Charles  King  for  a  long  time  has  now  been  presi- 
dent, and,  according  to  the  charter,  he  reads  each  morn- 
ing, in  the  college  chapel,  a  portion  of  Scripture,  with  a 
brief  form  of  prayer  prepared  for  the  purpose,  and  to 
whicli  all  Christian  men,  of  whatever  denomination,  may 
say  amen  !*  It  is  very  obvious,  then,  that  no  ground 
exists  to  characterize  Columbia  College  as  a  sectarian 
institution. 

In  the  year  1754,  King's  College  received  a  charter, 
by  which,  as  we  have  noticed,  its  head  is  always  to  be 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  its  prayers  are 
to  be  always  used.  Some  provision  for  additional  funds 
was  made  by  lotteries,  as  once  the  fashion  in  New  York ; 
and  soon  after,  the  trustees  unanimously  chose  Dr.  John- 
ston president  of  the  new  college.  The  institution  re- 
ceived another  benefaction  of  live  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ling from  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
with  also  a  bequest  from  Dr.  Bristowe,  of  London,  of  his 
library — fifteen  hundred  volumes  ;  and,  finall}^,  another 
legacy,  from  Mr.  Murray,  of  ten  thousand  pounds  cur- 
rency— then  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  He  was  a 
lawyer  of  great  eminence  in  New  "York,  about  the  middle 
of  last  century,  and  Attorney-General  of  the  Province. 

*  Mr.  King  lias  recently  resigned,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Barnard  takes  his  place. 


M)  TnMi\  Cm  F  n 
Jhiilt  in  ITSS. 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  93 

After  the  erection  of  the  college  building,  and  the 
purchase  of  its  philosophical  apparatus,  the  trustees 
found  it  impossible  to  cany  out  its  liberal  plans  without 
encroaching  on  the  permanent  funds.  To  avoid  tliis, 
collections  were  made  in  England  for  the  joint  use  of 
this  and  a  Philadelphia  college,  which  produced  for 
King' s  six  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

What  numbers  of  useful,  learned,  and  professional 
men  have  since  graduated  from  its  venerable  classic  halls ! 
The  president  was  assisted  by  his  son,  William  John- 
ston, and  Mr.  Cutting,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  and 
Mr.  Treadwell,  of  Harvard,  Massachusetts,  who  became 
Professor  of  Mathematics  and  I^atural  Philosophy.  He 
died  in  1760,  and  was  succeeded  b}^  Mr.  Robert  Harper, 
a  graduate  of  the  Glasgow  University. 


94  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

IN  1GS5,  THE  JEWS  REFUSED  PERMISSION  OF  PUBLIC  WORSHIP  BY 
THE  CITY  AUTHORITIES CHURCHES  IN  GOVERNOR  DONGAn's  ADMIN- 
ISTRATION  PETITION  OF  THE  JEWS — SYNAGOGUES  BUILT  IN  BALTI- 
MORE   AND    RICHMOND BURIAL-PLACE    IN    1672 FIRST    SYNAGOGUE 

BUILT     IN     MILL     STREET JEWISH     FAMILIES      NEAR     IT HARMAN 

HENDRICKS  —  REV.   GERSHOM    ISAAC    JESHURUN   PINTO MR.  SEIXAS 

THE    RABBIS NAMES    OF   THE    PRESENT    TEMPLES JEWISH    WORSHIP 

THE    HOLY    LIGHT. 

What  a  wonderful  people  are  the  Jews  !  Of  course, 
they  have  no  churches  ;  but,  wherever  Christians  are  to 
be  found,  they  appear  also,  and,  if  not  forbidden  by 
law  or  persecution,  erect  their  synagogues.  Among  the 
early  settlers  of  New  York,  came  some  Israelites ;  and 
although  they  petitioned  for  liberty  to  enjoy  public 
worship,  according  to  "Moses  and  the  Law,"  they  were 
refused  by  the  city  authorities  in  1685.  In  Governor 
Andres's  description  about  the  "Plantacons  for  New 
Yorke,"  he  says :  "  There  are  Religions  of  all  sorts,  one 
Church  of  England,  several  Presbiterians  and  Indepen- 
dents, Quakers,  and  Anabaptists  of  severall  sects,  some 
Jews,  but  presbiterians  and  Independ*^  most  numerous 
and  Substantiall.  .  .  .  There  are  ab*  20  Churches  or 
Meeting  places,  of  w*=''  above  halfe  vacant,  thier  allow- 
ance like  to  be  from  40'^  to  70'^  a  yeare  and  a  house  and 
garden.  Noe  Beggars  but  all  poore  cared  ffor.  If  good 
Ministers  could  be  had  to  goe  theither  migiit  doe  well 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  95 

aud  gaine  mucli  upon  those  people.— 16'^  of  Ap.  1678."  * 
Such  was  the  state  of  religion  in  our  infant  city  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  years  ago,  and  such  the  style  of  its 
royal  English  Governor. 

Nine  years  afterwards  Governor  Dongan  reported 
that,  "Every  Town  ought  to  have  a  Minister.  New 
York  has  first  a  Chaplain  belonging  to  the  Fort,  of  the 
Church  of  England  ;  Secondly,  a  Dutch  Calvinist,  third- 
ly, a  French  Calvinist,  fourthly,  a  Dutch  Lutheran- 
there  bee  not  many  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  few 
Roman  Catholics ;  abundance  of  Quakers  preachers 
men  (a)  Women  especially  :  Singing  Quakers,  Ranting 
Quakers  ;  Sabbatarians  ;  Antisabbatarians :  Some  Ana- 
baptists, some  Independents  ;  some  Jews  ;  in  short  of  all 
sorts  of  opinions  there  are  some,  and  the  most  part  of 
none  at  all.  .  .  .  The  most  prevailing  opinion  is  that  of 
the  Dutch  Calvinists."  .  .  .  "But  as  for  the  Kings 
natural-born-subjects  that  live  on  long  Island  («)  other 
parts  of  the  Government,  I  find  it  a  hard  task  to  make 
them  pay  their  Ministers. 

"Tiio.  Dongan."  t 

Some  thirty  years  after  this,  we  find  a  ''PeUilon  of 
Abraham  Be  Lucena,  Minister  of  the  Jeioish  Nation,'' 
to  his  Excellency,  Governor  Hunter.  It  "  Siieweth, 
That  yo""  Petitioners,  Predecessors,  Ministers  of  the  Jew- . 
ish  Nation,  resideing  at  the  City  of  New  York,  by  rea- 
son of  their  ministerial  ff'unction,  have  from  time  to  time 
beene  Exempted  by  y  Government,  not  only;  from 
bearing  any  Office  Civil  or  Military  within  this  City: 

*  Lond.  Doc.  III.  |  Lond.  Doc.  V. 


96  EARLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOrvK. 

but  likewise  beene  excns'd  from  severall  Duties  and 
Services  Incumbent  upon  the  Inhabitants  of  this  city. 
Wherefore  5^0'"  Petitioner  most  liumbly  beggs  yo'  Excel- 
lencies care  of  him  (in  Consideration  of  his  ministeriall 
ffunction)  That  hee  may  likewise  be  excused  from  all 
such  Offices,  duties  and  services,  and  be  allowed  the  like 
Pri^'iledges  and  advantages  within  this  city,  as  have 
formerly  beene  Granted  to  his  said  Predecessors,  as 
Ministers  aforesaid.  .  .  . 

"Abraham  de  Lucena. 

"New  York,  13"'  Sepf  1710.-' 

Compared  with  other  people,  there  are  not  very  large 
numbers  of  Jews  in  America ;  still,  they  are  found  in 
every  section  of  the  Union.  About  1660,  probably,  they 
made  their  earliest  settlement  in  New  Amsterdam  ;  and 
these,  doubtless,  were  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  who 
had  first  fled  to  Holland  from  the  bloody  Inquisition. 
Shortly  before  the  American  Revolution,  a  congregation 
of  JeAVS  assembled  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island  ;  but, 
after  the  peace  of  1783,  they  began  to  leave — some  set- 
tling in  iSTew  York,  some  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and 
other  places.  In  Pennsylvania,  Israelites  were  found 
long  before  the  Revolution,  but  no  regular  congregation 
was  formed  until  the  one  in  New  York. 

In  Maryland,  the  Jews  were  formerly  excluded  from 
equal  rights  of  the  people,  but  these  disabilities  were 
removed,  and  a  large  congregation  formed  in  Baltimore. 
About  1780,  two  synagogues  were  founded  in  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.  The  Jcavs  have  no  ecclesiastical  author- 
ities in  America,  except  the  congregations  themselves. 
Each  makes  its  o^vn  rules  of  government,  elects  its  ovv^i 


EAELIEST   CHUECIIES   IN  NEW   YOKK.  97 

minister,  who  is  appointed  without  any  ordination,  and 
he  is  inducted  into  office  by  election,  for  a  term  of  years, 
or  during  good  behavior,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
majority.  All  the  congregations  make  provision  for 
their  poor ;  and  hence,  among  us,  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  see 
an  Israelite  asking  alms. 

There  is  some  evidence  that  a  Jewish  congregation 
did  assemble  for  worship,  according  to  their  own  forms, 
before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  A  burial- 
place  was  procured,  very  soon,  in  Oliver  street,  where 
monuments  still  stand,  with  epitap?is,  inscribed  as  early 
as  1672.  This  ground  was  the  gift  of  IS'oe  Willey,  Lon- 
don, to  his  three  sons,  merchants  in  JSTew  York,  to  be 
held  forever  as  a  burial-place  for  the  Jewish  people. 
The  generous  Hebrew,  however,  could  not  govern  futu- 
rity, and  this  trust  was  violated,  like  other  charitable 
legacies  sometimes,  in  our  day.  Part  of  the  ground  was 
sold,  not  many  years  since,  for  building  purposes — the 
Tradesmen's  Bank  occupying  some  of  its  sj^ace  on 
Chatham  street,  and  the  New  Bowery  running  through 
it.  The  small  portion  left,  now  separated  from  New 
Bowery  by  a  plain  iron  railing,  is  quite  full  of  Jewish 
graves  and  headstones.  The  earliest  minutes  of  the 
Jewish  congregation  in  New  York  are  dated  1729,  and 
written  in  Spanish  and  English,  but  reference  is  made  to 
previous  minutes  of  170G. 

On  Mill  street,  not  now  existing,  the  first  synagogue 
was  placed — a  small  frame  building  ;  and  this  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  solid,  neat  stone  temple  in  1729-30.  Its 
dimensions  were  thirty-six  by  fifty-eight  feet.  Here  the 
Israelites  continued  to  worshij)  Jehovah  in  their  own 


98  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   IsEW  YORK. 

way  for  nearly  a  century.  "While  tlie  fathers  descended 
to  the  grave,  their  children  occupied  their  vacant  places 
before  the  ark. 

N'ew  Yorkers  of  the  last  fifty  years  remember  this 
little  lane  or  street,  about  where  the  present  Beaver 
street  runs.  Its  name  was  derived  from  a  mill  built  on 
a  little  brook  of  water,  where,  it  is  related,  the  Jewish 
women  perfonned  their  ablutions.  For  very  many  years 
this  neigliborhood  was  a  favorite  section  for  Jewish  resi- 
dents. Here  were  located  the  families  of  Abrams,  Laza- 
rus, Levy,  Seixas,  Meyers,  Hendricks,  Gomez,  Juday, 
Noah,  Isaac,  Nathan,  Hart,  &c.— all  well-known  names. 
Harman  Hendricks,  the  great  copper  merchant,  a  few 
doors  from  this  spot,  made  his  immense  fortune ;  and 
when  he  died,  twenty  years  ago,  it  was  estimated  at 
three  millions  of  dollars.  His  three  sons  continue  the 
same  business  in  the  same  place,  on  Broad  street,  where 
they  have  remained  fifty  years.-  He  was  a  decided 
Israelite ;  and  when  he  left  the  world  the  synagogue 
lost  one  of  its  best  worshippers.  No  man  stood  higher 
in  our  community.  He  used  to  boast  that  in  all  of  his 
immense  money  operations,  no  one  could  accuse  him  of 
taking  more  tlian  legal  interest,  and  that,  in  this  respect, 
he  strictly  kept  the  law  of  Moses.  Some  will  say  this 
was  rare  for  a  Jew,  but  very  rare  now  among  Cliristians, 
on  Wall  and  William  streets. 

In  1833,  tlu^  Jews,  selling  their  property  on  Mill 
street,  erected  a  spacious  and  elegant  sj^iagogue  in 
Crosby  street,  with  dwellings  for  the  sexton  and  minis- 
ter. We  have  not  ascertained  the  names  of  the  earliest 
Jewish  ministers ;  one,  however,  was  the  Kev.  Gershom 


EARLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IIST  NEW  YORK.  99 

Isaac  Jesliiirun  Pinto,  who  died  in  the  year  1766,  but  it 
is  not  known  how  long  he  officiated.  He  was  succeeded 
Iby  the  Rev.  Gershom  Mendez  Seixas,  wlio  came  from 
Philadelplaia  with  a  number  of  Jews,  served  the  temple 
for  fifty  years,  and  then  descended  to  the  tomb  in  1827. 
The  Rev.  Isaac  B.  Seixas,  a  nephew  of  the  former,  fol- 
lowed him,  continuing  until  his  decease,  October  15, 
1839.  We  need  trace  the  line  no  further.  Thousands 
among  us,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  remember  these  well- 
known  "Rabbis,"  whose  duty  it  was  to  pray,  j)i'each, 
and  interpret  the  Law  in  the  synagogues.  In  the  great 
"Exodus"  from  Europe  to  our  land,  large  numbers  of 
Israelites  arrive — so  that  they  have,  probabl}^,  ten  or 
twelve  sacred  temples  in  our  city.  They  all  bear  strik- 
ing and  beautiful  Hebrew  names:  Anslii  Cliesed,  The 
Men  of  Benevolence;  Sliaary  Sliomalm,  The  Gates  of 
.Heaven  ;  I^od  of  SJialoin,  The  Pursuers  of  Peace  ;  Im- 
manuel,  God  \ili\\  us;  &c.  Another  most  magnificent 
and  costly  temple  has  recently  been  finished  in  Six- 
teenth street. 

Born  within  sight  of  the  old  ]\Iill  Street  Synagogue, 
among  our  earliest  impressions  are  scenes  connected 
with  it.  The  venerable  Rabbi,  reading  out  of  the  Book 
of  the  Law  ;  his  splendid  robes  of  office  and  long,  flow- 
ing beard ;  the  men,  with  their  silk  scarfs ;  the  females 
latticed  in  the  gallery,  and  the  whole  congregation 
chanting  aloud  in  Hebrew,  were  sights  and  sounds  to 
leave  lasting  remembrances  upon  a  youthful  mind.  A 
narrow  private  lane  ran  from  Beaver  to  Mill  street,  and 
upon  its  eastern  side  stood  the  old  temple  ;  and  very 
often  have  I  looked  in   at  the  window  to   see  if  the 


100  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOIIK. 

''Holy  Light'"  was  burning  before  the  ultar.  I  never 
saw  it  extinguished ;  and  the  rumor  then  was,  that  the 
lamp  must  be  taken  to  tlie  nearest  synagogue,  which 
was  at  Philadelphia,  "to  be  re-lit."  This  ever-burn- 
ing little  Jewish  light  was  the  wonder  and  mystery  of 
the  First  Ward,  among  its  youngsters,  and  some  old 
folks,  too. 

Alas  !  alas  !  Unbelieving  Jew !  The  sacred  fire  which 
first  fell  down  from  heaven  upon  the  altar  of  the  Taber- 
nacle was  thence  transferred  to  the  Temple,  and  pre- 
served, imextinguished,  iintil  the  destruction  of  tliis 
sacred  edifice.  Then  the  holy  flame,  so  long  watched, 
day  and  night,  by  the  priests,  Avent  out  forever  !  And 
what  need  have  we  of  this  ever-burning  light?  The 
Temple,  with  all  its  glories,  has  passed  away.  But  the 
Cliristian,  now,  has  access  to  God  on  the  mercy- seat  daily 
in  j)rayer.  The  high-priest,  under  the  law,  only  enjoyed 
this  precious  privilege  annually,  when  within  the  veil, 
at  the  mercy-seat,  and  here  God  communed  with  him 
from  between  the  cherubim. 

"We  have  no  such  lengths  to  go."  We  know  where 
he  "  waiteth  to  be  gracious  ;"  the  eternal  throne  now  is 
the  mercy-seat,  and  the  blood  of  Christ  our  introduction 
and  plea.  The  pioiis  Jews  only  possessed  "  shadows  of 
good  things  to  come,"  whereas  we  have,  in  our  closets 
of  jjrayer  and  chiu'ches,  the  "good  things"  themselves. 

In  Deuteronomy  (iii.  64)  we  read:  "And  the  Lord 
shall  scatter  thee  among  all  people,  from  one  end  of  the 
earth  even  unto  the  other.'"  AVhat  a  most  striking  proi)li- 
ecy,  foretelling  the  calamities  of  the  people  of  Israel  in 
consequence  of  their  departure  from  God !    All  these  pre- 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  101 

dictions  liave  been  fulfilled  and  are  now  receiving  their 
fulfilment.  Even  in  modern  times,  we  have  authentic 
accounts  that  three  thousand  Jews,  old  and  young,  men 
and  women,  went  away  from  Spain,  on  foot,  in  one  day, 
not  knowing  whither  to  go.  Some  reached  Portugal, 
others  Navarre,  where  they  encountered  many  calami- 
ties. What  stronger  proof  can  any  man  desire  of  the 
fulfilment  of  Divine  Truth  ?  How  they  affect  others,  we 
know  not,  but  they  amaze  and  astonish  us  beyond  ex- 
pression. In  this  condition  they  are  to  remain  until  the 
veil  is  removed  from  their  hearts,  and  they  again  turn  to 
the  Lord  their  God. 


102  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LUTIIEU'S    NAME    A    WAYMAUK    IN    THE    CHURCH TWO    CENTURIES    AGO 

A    LUTHERAN    CONGREGATION     IN     NEW     YORK REV.    JACOU     FABRI 

TIUS BUT     FOUR     CLERGYMEN      OF     THE     ESTABLISHED     CHURCH    IN 

NEW     NETHERLANDS CONFORMITY     ATTEMPTED THE     LUTHERANS 

AND    BAPTISTS    TROUBLED WILLIAM    HALLET    FINED     FIFTY    POUNDS, 

AND    A    BAPTIST    PREACHER     ONE    HUNDRED     POUNDS,    AND     ORDERED 

FROM    THE    COLONY REV.    ERNESTUS    GOATWATER    BANISHED GOV. 

STUYVESANT     CENSURED      FOR     HIS      PERSECUTIONS IN     1664      NEW 

AMSTERDAM     BECOMES     NEW    YORK LUTHERANS     ERECT    A    CHURCH, 

1*702 REV.    BARNARDUS    ARENTIUS     ITS    PASTOR REV.    JACOB    FAB- 

RITIUS HIS      SUCCESSORS SWEDISH     SETTLEMENT      ON     THE     DELA- 
WARE  IN     1710,     THREE     THOUSAND     PALATINES     ARRIVE     IN     NEW 

YORK CHURCH     BURNED     IN      1776 GRACE     (ePISCOPAl)      CHURCH 

OCCUPIES     THE     SPOT REV.     MR.     MUHLENBERGH SWAMP     CHURCH 

DR.    KUNZIE SHAEFFER STROBEL GEISSENHAINER DR.    MILLE- 

DOLER    IN    GERMAN    REFORMED    CHURCH,    NASSAU    STREET. 

Martin  Luther's  name  lias  now  Ibecome  a  striking 
waymark  in  the  liistoiy  of  tlie  world  and  tli(^  Chnrcli. 
It  has  immortalized  him  and  his  age,  for  from  the  cell  of 
his  monastery  dawned  truth  Avliich  shall  shine  more  and 
more,  with  increasing  briglitness,  until  its  perfect  day. 
The  Lutheran  is  an  ancient,  honored,  and  efficient  branch 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  on  the  earth  ;  and  we  learn 
from  the  Dutch  records  at  Albany,  that  a  cliurch  of  the 
Augsburg  confession  was  establislied  in  New  York  as 
earl}^  as  the  year  1663,  just  two  centuries  ago.  The 
same  record  also  states  that  the  Rev.  Jacob  Fabritius, 
Lutheran  minister  at  New  York,  was  lint'd  twice  for 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IJST   NEW   YORK.  103 

some  misdemeanors.  It  is  not  known  what  these  were, 
but  in  1675  he  was  forbidden  to  preach  in  the  province. 
Our  Dutch  forefathers,  it  must  be  admitted,  at  an 
early  day  were,  stern  in  some  of  their  i*eligious  views. 
Up  to  the  year  1656,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
New  ISTetherland,  conscience  seems  to  have  enjoyed 
comparative  repose.  Some,  who  were  persecuted  in 
New  England  for  its  sake,  could  come  here  and  wor- 
ship God,  the  Creator  of  all,  according  to  the  wishes 
of  their  own  minds.  New  Netherland  was  now,  for  a 
time,  to  lose  this  great  honor.  Governor  Stuyvesant 
seems  to  have  forgotten,  at  the  moment,  the  tolerant  and 
wise  policy  which  enriched  and  ennobled  his  father- 
land, by  making  it  the  asylum  of  the  persecuted  from 
all  climes.  This  was  more  essential  in  a  new  country, 
but  he  unfortunately  was  persuaded  to  follow  the  un- 
happy example  of  his  more  eastern  Puritan  neighbors. 
A  public  proclamation  condemned  those  who  presumed 
to  preach  without  an  appointment  by  the  Dutch  ecclesi- 
astical authorit}^.  As  "  numberless  heresies  and  schisms' ' 
would  arise  from  such  conventicles,  such  were  positively 
forbidden,  as  they  diifered  from  the  established  religion, 
pro]30unded  by  the  "Synod  of  Dort," — "  which  was  not 
only  lawful,  but  commanded  by  the  Word  of  God." 
A  line  of  one  hundred  pounds  Flemish  was  imposed 
upon  all  unlicensed  preachers ;  and  all  persons,  male 
and  female,  married  or  single,  attending  the  meetings, 
and  listening  to  their  exhortations,  were  subject,  each  to 
a  penalty  of  twenty-five  pounds.  This  was  the  first 
penal  law  against  the  blessed  freedom  of  conscience  that 
disgraced  the  statute-book  of  New  Netherland,  and  was 


104  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW    YORK. 

passed  to  "i^romote  the  glory  of  God,  the  increase  of  the 
Reformed  religion,  and  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the 
country." '■• 

It  must  not  here  be  forgotten  that,  at  the  period  of  this 
unwise  enactment,  the  Dutch  jurisdiction  extended  only 
over  Delaware,  two  settlements  on  the  North  River, 
New  Amsterdam,  Oostdorp,  in  Westchester,  with  eight 
villages  on  Long  Island.  There  were  but  four  clergy- 
men of  the  "Established  Church"  in  the  province— one 
at  Beaverwick  and  two  at  the  Manhattans,  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Polliamus,  wdio  ministered  in  the  villages  of  Breujie- 
len,  Midwout,  and  Amersfoort.  The  other  towns  got 
along  in  religious  matters  the  best  way  they  could. 
Those  of  Gravesend  were  Mennonists,  rejecting  infant 
baptism,  the  Sabbath,  and  the  preacher  altogether,  "say- 
ing that  through  these  entered  all  sorts  of  contention  into 
the  world." 

Tinder  such  circumstances,  and  in  such  a  country, 
the  government  determined  to  build  up  an  Established 
Church  and  enforce  conformity.  It  did  not,  however, 
attempt  to  accomplish  tliis  work  by  introducing  more 
orthodox  clergymen,  but  by  bills  of  pains  and  penalties, 
fines  and  banishment — evils  so  familiar  in  all  religious 
persecutions. . 

The  Lutherans  were  first  troubled.  At  an  early  period 
the  directors  in  Holland  were  solicited  to  allow  this  sect 
the  liberty  to  elect  their  own  pastor,  with  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  own  faith  and  worsliip,  in  New  Netherlands. 
This,  however,  was  refused,  with  orders  ' '  to  employ  all 
moderate  exertions  to  lure  them  into  our  Churches,  and 

'■••  Alb.  Rcc,  vii.,  355-357. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   KEW   YORK.  105 

to  matriculate  tliem  in  tlie  public  Reformed  religion." 
But  of  wliat  avail  is  moderation  where  conscience  inter- 
poses her  scrui)les?  Fathers,  contrary  to  their  princi- 
ples, were  compelled  to  attend  the  baptism  of  their 
children  in  the  Dutch  Church,  and,  Avitli  the  sponsors, 
to  declare  their  belief  in  the  truth  and  doctrines  promul- 
gated by  the  Synod  of  Dort !  They  objected,  and  many, 
consequently,  were  imprisoned  ;  complaints  followed  to 
Holland,  when  Governor  Stu^^vesant  was  censured,  and 
the  Lutherans  were  then  allowed  to  exercise  their  reli- 
gion "in  their  own  houses."  Still  they  demanded  unin- 
terrupted freedom  in  their  worship,  but  the  Director- 
General  declared  his  intention  to  enforce  the  law  against 
conventicles.*  Similar  harsh  measures  were  adojDted  in 
Beverwyck  against  the  same  sect. 

The  Baptists  next  experienced  the  severity  of  the  law. 
At  Flushing,  William  Hallet,  the  sherifi",  "dared  to  col- 
lect conventicles  in  his  house,  and  to  j^ermit  one  AVilliam 
Wickendam  to  explain  and  comment  on  God's  Holy 
Word,  and  to  administer  sacraments,  though  not  called 
thereto  by  any  civil  or  established  clerical  authority." 
Hallet  was  removed  from  office  for  this  offence,  fined 
fifty  pounds,  and,  failing  to  pay,  he  was  to  be  banished. 
The  Bax3tist  preacher,  who  "maintained  that  he  was 
commissioned  by  Christ,  and  di^^ped  the  people  in  the 
river,"  Avas  fined  one  hundred  pounds,  and  also  ordered 
from  the  colony.  But  he  was  "a  poor  cobbler  from 
Rhode  Island,"  with  a  wife  and  family  ;  so  the  fine  was 
remitted,  bat  the  remainder  of  the  sentence  was  rigidly 
enforced:t    Up  to  this  period  the  Dutcli  congregations 

*  Alb.  Rec,  iv.,  212;  viii.,  170,  &c.  f  Alb.  Rec,  siii.,  274-7. 


lOG  EARLIEST   CIIUECHE3   IIST   NEW  YORK. 

of  New  Amsterdam  had  Ibeen  superintendjed  Iby  a  "ziek- 
entrooster,"  or  comforter  of  tlie  sick,  wlien  a  clergyman 
now  arrived.  This  was  tlie  Kev.  Everardus  Welius, 
commissioned  on  the  9th  of  March,  1657 ;  he  was  the 
first  Dutch  minister  in  New  Amsterdam,  arriving  there 
the  same  year. 

At  the  same  period  came  the  Rev.  Joannes  Ernestus 
Goetwater,  a  Lutheran,  witli  a  commission  from  the  con- 
sistory at  Amsterdam,  to  act  as  pastor  to  tlie  Lutherans 
at  the  Manhattans.  He  was  immediately  cited  before  the 
tribunals  and  forbidden  to  exercise  his  calling,  and  or- 
dered to  leave  the  province.  As  he  was  sick,  however, 
he  could  not  comply  with  this  severe  and  unchristian 
order,  but  was  -put  on  the  limits,  and  finally  compelled 
to  embark  for  Holland. 

These  early  religious  persecutions  continued  several 
years,  especially  against  the  Quakers  on  Long  Island. 
Retributive  justice  at  length  visited  the  Director-General 
himself.  His  brother-in-law's  sister,  Judith  Farlath,  lay 
imprisoned  in  Hartford,  charged  with  being  a  witch, 
when  the  orthodox  Governor  Stuyvesant  was  com- 
pelled to  implore  for  her  that  Christian  forbearance 
which  he  had  refused  to  others.  A  dispatch,  too,  came 
to  him  from  the  Directors  at  Amsterdam,  severely  cen- 
suring his  persecuting  course.  "In  the  youth  of  your 
existence,"  they  said,  "yon  ought  rather  encourage 
than  clieck  the  poi)ulation  of  the  colony.  The  con- 
sciences of  men  ought  to  be  free  and  unshaclded,  so  long 
as  they  continue  moderate,  peaceable,  inoffensive,  and  not 
hostile  to  the  government.  Such  have  been  th(5  maxims 
of  prudence  and  toleration  by  which  tlie  magistrates  of 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIS"  NEW   YORK.  107 

tins  city  liave  "beeu  governed;  and  tlie  consequences 
have  been,  that  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  from 
every  country  have  found  among  us  an  asylum  from 
distress.  Follow  the  same  steps,  and  you  will  be 
blessed."*  AVise,  noble,  and  holy  sentiments  for  glo- 
rious old  Protestant  Holland !  From  this  time  the 
Dutch  persecutions  ceased  in  ISTew  Amsterdam.  In 
1664,  during  profound  peace,  New  Amsterdam  Avas 
wrested  from  its  rightful  owners  by  the  violation  of  all 
public  justice  and  public  law.  This  outrage  was  fur- 
ther increased  by  imposing  upon  our  State  the  name  of 
one  unknown  in  history,  only  as  a  bigot  and- tyrant— the 
enemy  of  religious  and  political  liberty.  Thus  New 
Netherland  became  New  York. 

At  this  period  the  city  contained  about  fifteen  hundred 
inhabitants,  and  the  only  church  was  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed, built  by  Director  Kieft,  within  the  fort  at  the 
Battery.  The  service  of  the  Cburch  of  England  was 
now  introduced,  and  Governor  McoUs,  who  appears  to 
have  been  a  man  of  liberal  views,  allowed  the  Lutherans 
to  erect  a  church  and  to  send  to  Europe  for  a  preacher, 
a  privilege  vainly  sought  from  Stuyvesant.  Availing 
themselves  of  this  offer,  they  built  a  small  church  in 
1702,  when  the  Rev.  Barnardus  Arentius  became  the 
pastor.  The  edifice  was  on  the  corner  of  Rector  street 
and  Broadway,  and  remained  until  the  Revolutionar3- 
period.  Some  accounts  state  that  the  earliest  minister 
was  Jacob  Fabritius,  who  arrived  in  1669,  and,  after 
eight  years'  labor,  connected  himself  with  the  Swedish 
Lutherans  at  Wicaco,   now   Southwark,   Philadelphia. 

*  Alb.  Rec,  iv.,  427,  &c. 


108  EAKLTEST   CHUECHES   IN   ISTEW   YORK. 

Here  lie  preaclied  fourteen  years,  nine  of  which  he  was 
blind,  and  died  in  1692/-  The  names  of  his  immediate 
successors  we  have  not  discovered ;  but,  from  1703  to 
1747,  the  pastors  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Falkner,  Berken- 
maj'er,  Knoll,  Rochemdahler,  Wolf,  Hartwick,  and  oth- 
ers. The  next  Lutheran  settlement  was  made  by  the 
Swedes,  on  the  Delaware,  in  the  year  1G36,  a  colony 
sanctioned  by  the  enlightened  and  illustrious  monarch, 
Gustavus  Adoli)hus.  For  many  years  this  Christian 
colony  prospered  ;  but  the  English  language  prevailing, 
the  churches,  amounting  to  three  or  four,  fell  into  Epis- 
copal hands-.  There  were  more  Germans  tlian  Holland- 
ers in  the  New  York  congregation ;  hence  half  of  the 
services  were  performed  in  German  and  half  in  Low 
Dutch.  In  1710,  some  three  thousand  Germans,  chiefly 
Lutherans,  went  from  the  Palatinate  to  England,  and  the 
next  year  were  sent  by  good  Queen  Anne  to  New  York. 
At  the  great  fire  in  September,  1776,  this  church  was 
consumed,  and  not  rebuilt,  the  ground  remaining  unoc- 
cupied until  1805,  when  the  Episcopalians  purchased  it 
and  erected  "Grace  Church'"'  on  the  spot. 

The  year  1742  was  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  from  the  arrival  of  the 
Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenbergh.  His  high  intel- 
lectual and  moral  qualities ;  his  indefatigable  zeal,  and 
long  life  of  zealous  labors  for  his  Master's  cause,  have 
entitled  liim  to  the  appellation  of  patriarch  in  the  Amer- 
ican Lutheran  Church. 

Some  years  before  the  burning  of  the  old  church  on 
Broadway  and  Rector  street,  another  Lutheran  congre- 

*  Riipp's  Ri'ligious  Dcnouiinationp,  p.  ;i70. 


%jy,|i'iu-Tr-^ 


I>  \l  risl    Cllll  I  II     1    ilETIt    &T,    M   VI     Ol  I\  n     Sf 


Ol.D    t'lHRCII    IS    Fl!ANKKORT   StKEET. 


EARLIEST   CHUECTIES   IN  NEW   YORK.  109 

gation  erected  a  small  edifice  on  Skinner  street,  now 
Cliff,  and  near  HnlF  s  soap  manufactory.  Close  by  was 
their  bnrying-ground ;  and  here  they  remained  six 
years,  and,  in  17G7,  erected  a  substantial  stone  edifice, 
the  "Swamp  Church,"  on  the  corner  of  Frankfort  and 
William  streets.  After  the  peace,  in  1784,  the  remnant 
of  the  old  Rector  street  society  united  with  the  "  Swamp 
Church,"  when  the  Rev.  John  Christopher  Kunzie,  D.  D., 
became  their  pastor.  He  continued  to  preach  usefully, 
in  the  German  language  only,  for  twenty-three  years, 
until  his  death,  on  July  24,  1807,  aged  sixty-three. 
The  Rev.  F.  W.  Geissenhainer,  D.  D.,  succeeded  him, 
officiating  in  German  until  1814,  when  a  difference 
arose  resj)ecting  the  introduction  of  the  English  lan- 
guage. Dr.  Geissenhainer  removed  to  Pennsylvania, 
when  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Schaefier  was  called  to  officiate  in 
German  during  the  morning  service,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Sabbath  in  English.  This  arrangement  continued  some 
seven  years  ;  then  he  formed  an  independent  congrega- 
tion in  Walker  street,  where  lie  continued  his  solemn 
duties  for  some  years.  Dr.  Geissenhainer  was  recalled 
to  the  "  Swamp  Church,"  continuing  to  occupy  its  pul- 
pit untD.  sold  to  the  colored  Presbyterians.  Mr.  Schaeffer 
removing  to  "St.  Matthew's,"  Walker  street,  in  1821, 
he  preached  in  the  English  language  alone.  The  congre- 
gation being  much  involved  in  debt,  as  is  too  often  the 
case,  this  church  was  sold  at  auction  in  1826,  and  these 
Lutherans  removed  to  "St.  James's,"  in  Orange  street, 
where  Mr.  Schaeffer  soon  after  died.  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Strobel,  and,  during  the  autumn  of 
1841,  the  Rev.  Charles  Martin  took  liis  place.     Soon 


110  EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   XEW   YOEK. 

after  this  the  place  was  given  up,  a  public  scliool  erected 
on  the  spot,  and  the  society  occupied  Coliseum  Hall, 
Broadway.  They  immediately  commenced  the  erection 
of  a  neat  brick  edifice,  seventy-five  feet  by  sixty,  on 
Mulberry  street,  near  Broome.  It  was  styled  tlie  "Eng- 
lish Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  St.  James."  "  St. 
Matthew's,"  when  sold,  was  purchased  by  an  individ- 
ual, and  again  disposed  of  in  a  few  days  to  the  Luther- 
ans of  the  "Swamp  Church."  The  Rev.  F.  W.  Geissen- 
hainer,  Jr.,  was  called  to  officiate  in  English  at  the 
former,  whilst  his  father  remained  with  the  "Swamp 
Churcli."  This  experiment,  however,  did  not  succeed 
well,  and,  after  four  years'  trial,  the  old  Swamja  Church 
was  sold,  as  we  have  stated,  and  the  congregation 
united  with  St.  Matthew's  —  the  services  being  con- 
ducted in  both  languages.  Nor  did  this  plan  prove 
successful,  the  English  hearers  dwindling  away  until 
the  services  were  conducted  entirely  in  the  German 
language.  When  Dr.  Geissenhainer  died,  in  1838,  the 
Rev.  C.  F.  E.  Stohlman  was  chosen  his  successor,  and 
continued  to  preach  in  German  with  increasing  success. 
]\Ir.  Geissenhainer,  Jr.,  resigned  his  charge  in  St.  Mat- 
thew's, commencing  a  new  enterprise  on  Sixth  Avenue, 
corner  of  Fifteenth  street,  where  a  house  of  worship 
was  erected,  and  called  "The  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church." 

We  have  thus  traced  the  earliest  Lutheran  churches 
in  New  York  with  as  much  brevity  as  possible,  from 
1663;  and  we  have  sketched  its  direct  branches  since. 
There  are  in  the  city  a  number  of  other  modern  Lutheran 
congregations,  but  it  is  not  in  our  jilaii  to  embrace  such. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIS"  NEW   YORK.  Ill 

What  changes  did  the  venerable  Swamp  Church  wit- 
ness in  our  ever-changing  city  !  Bnilt  in  the  year  1767, 
almost  a  century  ago,  it  was  used  successively  by  the 
Lutherans,  the  Reformed  Methodists,  the  African  Pres- 
byterians. Then  it  was  turned  into  a  livery  stable,  and 
next  used  for  an  auction  shop.  At  last  the  old  edifice 
was  demolished,  and  a  large  German  lager-beer  hotel 
took  its  place.  In  widening  Frankfort  street,  the  re- 
mains of  a  military  officer  were  disinterred  ;  and,  from 
the  sword  and  uniform,  they  were  those  of  General 
Knyphausen,  the  Hessian  leader  during  the  Eevolution. 
He  was  known  to  have  attended  this  Church. 

There  was  another  "Gennan  Reformed  Church"  in 
the  city,  of  whose  history  we  must  say  something. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  New  York,  some  of  the 
Germans  were  called  Lutherans,  and  others  Calvinists, 
and  the  latter  known  as  "German  Reformed,"  until 
about  the  year  1758.  Before  this  the  German  emigrants, 
in  sentiments  Calvinistic,  and  using  the  Low  Dutch  lan- 
guage, attached  tliemselves  to  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church ;  those  speaking  German  only,  attended  the 
services  of  the  Lutherans.  About  1758,  however,  a 
meeting  was  commenced  to  form  a  true  German  Re- 
formed Church,  and  a  building  used  for  a  theatre  pur- 
chased on  Nassau  street,  at  a  cost  of  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  Here  they  commenced  their  church 
services,  and  the  first  minister  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rosen- 
crantz.  He  had  been  preaching  to  the  Germans  on  the 
Mohawk,  but  was  driven  away  by  the  Indians ;  and 
having  ofiiciated  in  New  York  about  a  year,  two  other 
ministers   succeeded  him,  whose  names  are  unknown. 


112  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   I^   NEW   YORK. 

The  cliurcli  soon  writing  to  Heidelbiirgli  for  a  pastor, 
the  Rev.  J.  M.  Kern  was  sent,  reaching  his  cliarge  in 
September,  1763.  By  his  advice,  the  name,  "German 
Reformed  Congregation  in  New  York,"  was  adopted, 
and  they  attached  themselves  to  the  Classis  of  Amster- 
dam and  Synod  of  North  Holland.  This,  consequently, 
connected  them  with  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  ;  and  he  was  installed  January  27,  1764,  by  the 
ministers  of  that  denomination.  Their  house  of  worship, 
old  and  decaying,  was  only  used  about  a  year ;  and,  in 
1765,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  same  spot,  March 
Stli,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kern,  each  member  of  his  consis- 
tor}^  placing  a  stone  of  the  foundation.  He  remained 
only  a  few  years  pastor,  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Foersing  suc- 
ceeding him  in  1772,  who  was  likewise  installed  by  the 
Collegiate  Church.  In  1776,  Mr.  Gebhard  became  pas- 
tor, when  the  British  2:)0ssessed  the  city,  and  he  then 
removed  to  Claverack,  where  he  preached  as  long  as  he 
lived. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1783,  soon  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gross  became  the  minister ; 
and  then,  in  May,  1795,  the  excellent  Rev.  Philip  Mille- 
doler  was  called,  continuing  to  labor  Avith  this  little 
flock  some  ten  years.  After  this,  differences  of  opin- 
ion arose,  but  preaching  continued,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Runkle,  Deyer,  and  Smitli  successively  ministering  from 
1805  to  1814,  althougli  among  much  party  spirit.  During 
1804,  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Labagh  was  called,  approved  by  the 
Classis,  and  labored  with  much  more  quiet  until  1822, 
when  he  resigned  the  cliarge.  Tlien  the  church  was 
sold,  and  a  new  one  erected  on  Forsyth  street.     The  old 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  113 

edifice  passed  into  strange  purposes  under  its  new  own- 
ers. For  many  years  Mr.  Bessonet,  a  well-known  bird- 
fancier,  with  a  rare  collection  of  songsters,  occupied  the 
premises.  Then  followed  Gosling,  the  English  Jew, 
with  his  celebrated  "Restaurant;"  and  now  stores  occu- 
py the  venerable  spot !  To  the  curious,  the  numbers  are 
64  and  66. 

The  tirst  pastor  in  the  new  house  was  the  Rev.  Charles 
Knouse,  officiating  until  1827;  then  the  Rev.  George 
MUls,  1828  to  1833,  when  the  Lutheran  part}^,  long  strug- 
gling, obtained  supremacy,  and  called  the  Rev.  Lewis 
Smith.  He  preached  three  years,  when  he  died.  This 
small  congregation  unfortunately  became  involved  in 
litigation  before  the  Court  of  Chancery.  In  1838,  the 
Rev.  J.  S.  Ebaugh  began  religious  services  in  this 
church  for  the  "German  Reformed;"  but  before  the 
year' s  close,  the  Lutheran  party  were  put  in  possession 
of  the  projoerty  by  the  Vice- Chancellor's  decision.  But 
in  1844,  the  Chancellor,  reversing  this  decision,  returned 
the  edifice  to  the  German  Reformed  Church,  when  the 
Lutherans  withdrew  to  a  hall  on  Grand  street.  But 
they  made  a  final  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Errors,  and,  in 
January,  1846,  this  bench  reversed  the  decision  of  the 
Chancellor,  and  the  Lutherans  once  more  took  possession 
of  this  house  of  worship.  What  a  striking  instance  of 
the  "glorious  uncertainty  of  the  law  !" 

Li  the  year  1820,  was  formed  the  General  Synod  of  the 
American  Lutheran  Church.  Prior  to  this,  the  denomi- 
nation had  gradually  become  divided  into  five  or  six 
distant  and  different  unconnected  Synods.  This  union 
was  propitious,  and  soon  felt  among  the  Lutherans  of  our 


114  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK. 

land.  They  liavo  now  many  cliurclies,  seminaries,  and 
a  college  near  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.  The  Luther- 
ans claim  that  their  Church  holds  the  grand  doctrines 
of  Christianity  with  fewer  appended  peculiarities  than 
most  other  denominations.  They  share  the  smiles  of 
Him  who  is  King  in  Zion,  and  whose  favor  is  life  ;  and 
we  bid  them  God-speed  in  their  religious  progress. 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  115 


CHAPTER  X. 

ORIGIN-     OF     FRIENDS      OR     QUAKERS     IN     ENGLAND GEORGE     FOX 

EARLY    PERSECUTED    AT    BOSTON WILLIAM     PENN ROBERT    HODSON 

ARRIVES    IN    NEW    YORK,    1656 GEORGE    FOX    VISITS    LONG    ISLAND, 

1672 TWO    WOMEN     THE     FIRST     PREACHERS THE     MALE     PREACH- 
ERS  PERSECUTIONS MRS.    ANNA     BAYARD     NOBLY     INTERFERES     IN 

THEIR     BEHALF MEETING-HOUSE      ON     LIBERTY,     PEARL,    AND     ROSE 

STREETS NEW     EDIFICES     ON     HESTER,    HENRY,     ORCHARD     STREETS, 

GRAMERCY    PARK,    AND    STUYVESANT    SQUARE. 

The  Society  of  Friends,  commonly  called  Quakers, 
arose  in  England  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Through  the  ministry  of  George  Fox  and  his 
pious  labors,  this  religious  body  organized  with  a  regu- 
lar form  of  church  discipline  and  government.  He  was 
born  at  Dayton,  Leicestershire,  England,  in  1624,  and 
carefully  educated  by  his  parents  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. He  appears  to  have  led  a  religious  life  from  his 
childhood,  and  to  have  been  deeply  concerned  for  the 
salvation  of  his  soul.  WithdraAving  from  his  former 
associates,  he  jDassed  much  of  his  time  in  retirement  and 
reading  the  Scriptures.  In  this  state  of  religious  experi- 
ence, during  the  year  1647  he  began  his  labors  as  a  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,  travelling  on  foot  through  England. 
He  refused  to  receive  any  compensation  for  preaching, 
from  a  conviction  that  this  was  contrary  to  the  positive 
command  of  Christ.  His  pious,  disinterested  labors  were 
crowned  with  much  success,  and  in  a  few  years  a  large 


116  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

body  of  persons  embraced  the  religious  principles  Avliicli 
he  promulgated. 

The  spread  of  his  doctrines  was  surprising,  some  of  the 
best  families  in  England  embracing  them.  Several  clergy- 
men of  the  Established  Church  and  other  denominations 
also  joined  his  infant  society.  A  hirge  number  of  min- 
isters, both  men  and  women,  were  soon  raised  up  among 
them,  who  travelled  abroad,  spreading  the  doctrines  they 
had  espoused.  Persecution  followed,  and  thousands  of 
the  Friends  were  confined  in  jails  and  dungeons,  and 
nearly  deprived  of  their  property.  But  these  sufferings 
only  animated  them  with  fresh  ardor  and  zeal.  As  early 
as  1655,  some  Quaker  ministers  travelled  on  the  Conti- 
nent, establishing  "meetings"  in  Holland  and  other 
regions.  Some  went  to  Asia  and  Africa,  and  several 
were  imprisoned  in  the  Inquisitions  of  Rome,  INIalta, 
and  Hungary. 

About  this  same  period  the  first  Quakers  reached  Amer- 
ica, and  on  arriving  at  Boston  they  commenced  their  reli- 
gious meetings  among  the  people,  many  of  whom  em- 
braced the  new  doctrine.  The  spirit  of  persecution, 
from  which  the  Friends  had  so  severely  suifered  in  Eng- 
land, made  its  appearance  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic 
with  increased  power  and  cruelty.  Various  punish- 
ments were  inflicted  upon  the  non-resisting  and  peace- 
able Friends,  until  four  of  them  were  hung  on  the 
gallows."  Notwithstanding  this  oj)position,  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Quakers  spread  in  America,  and  in  the  year 
1682  a  large  number  of  the  FriiMids  came  to  Pennsylva- 
nia, under  the  patronage  of  William  Penn,  founding  that 

*  Eaucroft 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  117 

flourishing  colony.  Meetings  were  also  settled  in  the 
Atlantic  provinces  from  TsTorth  Carolina  to  Boston,  so 
that  in  time  the  largest  body  of  Quakers  were  to  be 
found  in  the  United  States. 

Like  the  Jews,  some  Qualcers  very  early  came  to  New 
ISTetherland ;  and  so,  like  them,  they  have  no  churches 
or  "steeple-houses,"  but  "meeting-houses."  During 
the  year  165G,  Robert  Hodson,  a  preacher  of  this  faith, 
reached  IN'ew  York  with  some  of  like  faith,  but,  finding 
themselves  liable  to  persecution,  soon  left.  In  1672, 
George  Fox,  the  celebrated  founder  of  this  sect,  trav- 
elled over  Long  Island,  passing  on  by  water  to  Rhode 
Island.  He  seems  to  have  avoided  New  York,  as  he 
came  across  from  Middletown,  New  Jersey,  by  water, 
to  Gravesend,  returning  the  same  way."^^ 

In  August,  1657,  a  few  men  and  women,  strangers, 
who  had  been  expelled  from  Boston  as  worse  than  a  pes- 
tilence, landed  at  New  Amsterdam.  They  declared  a 
kind  and  simple  creed — peace  on  earth  and  good-will 
towards  men.  Oaths,  they  said,  were  a  profanation ; 
"  Swear  not  at  all,"  the  divine  command  ;  Avars  an  out- 
rage against  humanity;  and  "Love  one  another"  was 
the  supreme  will  of  God.  Dorothy  Waugli  and  Mary 
Witherhead  were  the  two  first  women  who  "j)ublicly 
declared  their  principles  in  the  streets."  Christopher 
Holder,  John  Copeland,  Humphrey  Norton,  Robert 
Hadshone,  Richard  Dowdney,  and  William  Robinson, 
were  the  male  preachers.  The  women  were  arrested, 
and  Hadshone  visited  Heemstede  to  declare  his  peculiar 
tenets,  where  he  was  seized  and  committed  to  confine- 

*  Prime's  History  of  Long  Island,  p.  338. 


118  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

ment.  Governor  Stuyvesant  then  sent  a  guard  of  nins- 
keteers  to  that  place,  and,  seizing  his  papers,  pinioned 
the  Quaker  during  a  night  and  day.  Two  defenceless 
women,  who  had  entertained  him,  were  also  arrested, 
thrown  into  a  cart,  and  the  preacher,  tied  to  its  tail,  was 
dragged  by  night  to  New  Amsterdam.  Here  he  was 
cast  into  prison,  and,  when  brought  before  the  council, 
sentenced  to  two  years'  hard  labor  at  the  wheelbarrow 
with  a  negro,  or  to  pay  six  hundred  guilders  (six  hun- 
dred and  forty  dollars).  The  poor  man  vainly  attempted 
a  defence,  and,  forbidden  to  speak,  was  again  remanded 
to  confinement,  "where  no  English  were  suffered  to 
come  to  him."  After  some  time  he  was  taken  out, 
placed  in  the  council  chamber,  his  hat  removed  from 
his  head,  when  another  sentence  was  read  to  him  in 
Dutch,  which  he  did  not  understand.  An  old  account 
states  :  ' '  But  that  it  displeased  many  of  that  nation  did 
appear  by  the  shaldng  of  their  heads !"  It  is  not  at  all 
agreeable  to  our  taste  to  detail  these  wicked  i)ersecu- 
tions,  but  they  form  part  of  our  chapter,  and  were  car- 
ried much  further,  until  Governor  Stuyvesant' s  sister 
implored  her  brother  to  liberate  the  unfortunate  man 
(1657).  This  noble  lady  was  Madame  Anna,  widow  of 
jSTicholas  Bayard,  who,  with  her  familj^,  accompanied 
Stuj^vesant  to  America.  She  had  three  sons,  from  whose 
marriages  have  descended  the  Jays,  Verplancks,  and  a 
Stuyvesant  branch.  Honored  be  the  memory  of  this 
humane  lady !  As  we  have  noticed  in  respect  to  the 
Jews,  the  governor  was  at  last,  in  1663,  reprimanded  by 
his  superiors  in  Holland,  and  these  outrages  ceased. 
Such  was  the  introduction'of  peaceful  Quakerism  in 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  119 

New  Amsterdam.  Its  first  stated  meetings  were  con- 
nected with  those  at  Flushing  as  early  as  1670.  Some 
date  the  first  Friends'  meeting-house  of  New  York  in  the 
year  1696  ;  others,  1703  or  1706.  It  was  a  small  wooden 
building  on  Little  Green  street,  near  Maiden  Lane,  then 
Crown  street.  This  remained  the  only  place  for  the 
public  worship  of  the  Friends  for  the  long  period  of 
seventy  years.  In  1794,  this  old  house,  now  much 
decayed,  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  one  adjoining 
it  placed  on  Liberty  street.  Here  the  Friends  wor- 
shipped during  seven  years,  until  1802,  when  a  brick 
building  took  its  place,  sixy  by  forty  feet ;  and  in  Octo- 
ber, 1826,  this  was  sold  to  that  remarkable  little  Scots- 
man, Grant  Thorburn.  It  became  the  most  elegant  and 
famous  seed-store  in  our  land.  He  was  no  Quaker,  but 
wore  the  broadest  brim  and  the  plainest  dress  of  that 
excellent  people.  Mr.  Thorburn  occupied  the  place  for 
some  ten  years,  when  fine  brick  stores  followed. 

A  second  Friends'  meeting-house,  built  of  brick,  was 
founded  on  Pearl,  near  Oak  street,  in  1775,  and  removed 
during  1824  to  the  spacious  edifice  near  by  on  Rose 
street.  In  1819,  another  Quaker  house  of  worship  was 
opened  upon  the  corner  of  Hester  and  Elizabeth  streets. 
We  have  now  traced  the  Friends'  meeting-houses  from 
the  earliest  period,  with  their  branches,  down  to  1827. 
During  this  year  the  great  schism  took  place  among 
them;  the  "Orthodox,"  separating,  completed  a  house 
of  worship  upon  Henry  street,  having  occupied  it  twelve 
years  ;  then  it  was  sold  for  a  Jewish  synagogue,  "  Anshi 
Chesed"  (the  Men  of  Benevolence),  in  1840,  the  old  soci- 
ety occupying  the  commodious  house  on  Orchard  near 


120  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN  NEW   YORK. 

AYalker  street.  The  Rose  street  meeting  became  "Hicks- 
ites."  Recently,  two  beautiful  Quaker  meeting-houses 
have  been  finished  and  occupied  on  Stny  vesant  Square 
and  Gramercy  Park,  the  former  with  large  and  excellent 
school-houses.  For  tlie  regular  administration  of  disci- 
pline, the  Quakers  hold  four  meetings,  — preparative, 
monthly,  quarterly,  and  yearly — and  in  all  of  them 
Divine  worship  is  the  first  thing  attended  to ;  then  the 
secular  business.  These  "meetings"  rise  in  importance 
from  one  to  the  other,  and,  as  a  whole,  we  think,  pre- 
sent as  perfect  a  system  of  church  discii^line  as  can  be 
found  in  any  denomination.  The  followers  of  George 
Fox  may  safely  claim  this  in  their  widely  spread  useful 
system. 


EAELIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  121 


CHAPTER   XL 

l'eGLISE    DU    saint    esprit ITS    PASTORS REV.    MR.    NEAU HIS    DE- 
SCENDANTS,  CAPTAIN    OLIVER   H.    PERRY,  DR.  FRANCIS  VINTON JOHN 

PINTARD,  LL.  D.,  AND    MEMBERS    OF    THIS    CHURCH MAROt's    PSALMS 

HUGUENOT    PSALMODY OLD     FRENCH    TRANSLATION    OF    THE    ONE 

HUNDRED    AND    THIRTY-SEVENTH    PSALM THE    CHURCH    REMOVED    TO 

LEONARD     STREET REV.    MR.    VERREN SACRED     ORATORS JAMES 

SAURIN HIS    BRILLIANT    ELOQUENCE. 

The  earliest  Huguenot  cliapel  in  our  city  of  which  we 
find  any  notice,  was  erected  on  Markettield  street,  then 
called  Petticoat  Lane,  and  near  the  Battery.  It  was  a 
very  liumble  edifice,  but  hither,  on  the  Lord' s  day,  the 
French  Protestants  from  the  city,  Staten  Island,  and 
'New  Rochelle,  would  meet  to  worship  God.  Some 
would  walk  from  the  latter  place,  and  cheer  their  long 
journey  by  singing  Marot's  Hymns  on  the  way.  The 
same  animating  strains  had  often  cheered  their  pious 
fathers  at  the  stake,  and  amidst  the  bloody  persecutions 
of  France,  their  native  land. 

We  know  nothing  of  their  earliest  pastors.  L'  Eglise 
du  Saint  Esprit,  the  French  Protestant  Church  in  Pine 
street,  opposite  to  the  custom-house,  was  founded  in  the 
year  1704,  and  repaired  1741.  In  our  day  it  has  been 
demolished,  its  dead  removed,  and  the  venerable  sacred 
place,  like  many  others  in  our  busy  city,  is  now  devoted 
to  mammon.  Lawyers'  ofSces,  custom-house  brokers,  a 
restaurant  and  lager-bier  saloon,  occu23y  the  once  hal- 


122  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK. 

lowed  spot.  The  Rev.  James  Laborde  was  tlie  first 
pastor  of  Saint  Esprit,  and  soon  collected  a  flourisliing 
congregation.  For  some  years  lie  was  allowed,  towards 
his  support,  "a  yearly  salary  of  twenty  pounds  per  ann. 
out  of  y°  Revenue  of  this  Province."  The  religious  ser- 
vices were  performed  in  the  primitive  manner  of  the 
French  Calvinistic  Churches ;  or,  to  speak  more  accu- 
rately, the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  and  Geneva. 
Saint  Esprit  was  a  plain  stone  edifice,  nearly  square, 
fifty  by  seventy-seven  feet — its  burial-ground  in  the 
rear,  running  to  Cedar  street. 

The  Rev.  Louis  Rou  was  an  early  pastor  of  the 
"Reformed  Protestant  French  Church  in  NeTt  York." 
Among  the  names  of  his  members  we  find,  in  1713, 
Thomas  Bayeux,  Augustus  Jay,  Jean  Carale,  Cromelin, 
Vincent,  Allaire,  Le  Febier,  Pelletreaux,  Giraud,  Pin- 
tard,  Tellou,  Des  Brosses,  Gilliot,  Butler,  Burton,  Perot, 
Ford,  etc.,  etc. 

There  was  great  excitement  in  the  congregation  (1724), 
caused  by  a  party  question.  Stephen  De  Lancey,  a 
wealthy  merchant,  and  patron  of  the  Church,  with  oth- 
ers, were  dissatisfied  with  their  pastor,  Mv.  Rou.  He 
was  even  dismissed  for  want  of  zeal,  and  the  innovations 
which  they  contended  he  had  introduced  into  their 
cliurch  discipline.  But  the  Huguenot  minister,  with 
his  friends,  aj^pealed  from  this  sentence  or  decision  to 
Governor  Burnet  and  his  council,  when  they  sustained 
the  French  preacher.  Both  x^arties  published  indignant 
memorials,  and  the  dispute  went  so  far,  that  when  De 
Lancey  was  elected  to  the  Colonial  Assembly,  the  gov- 
ernor refused  to  administer  the  oath  of  ofiice  to  him. 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YOKK.  128' 

alleging  that  he  was  not  a  subject  of  the  British  crown. 
De  Lancey,  the  Huguenot,  contended  that  he  had  left 
France  before  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  IN'antes, 
and,  under  the  great  seal  of  the  Royal  James  II.,  liad 
received  denization.  The  Frenchman  was  right,  the 
Assembly  sustaining  his  argument  and  claims  against 
his  excellency  the  "Captain-General  and  Governor-in- 
Chief  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  New  Jersies,  and 
Territories  thereon  depending  in  America." 

About  this  period,  a  Rev.  Mr.  Moulinars  was  an 
assistant  minister  of  Mr.  Ron,  and  united  with  the 
party  opposing  him.  They  have  left  records  of  their 
views,  in  which  they  claim  to  have  paid  Mr.  Rou  in 
full,  and  that  then  the  consistory  could  dismiss  him 
whenever  they  saw  fit.  "We  are  not  indebted  unto 
Mr.  Rou  one  farthing  for  all  the  time  he  hath  served 
us,"  is  their  language.  Still,  the  religious  council  deci- 
ded in  Mr.  Rou' s  favor,  and  was  ' '  of  oj)inion  that  the  said 
congregation  be  admonished  that  every  person  in  it  do 
all  in  his  power  to  preserve  peace  and  unanimity  in 
their  congregation."  That  body  also  advised  "that  the 
ministers  of  the  French  congregation  who  shall  officiate 
next  Sunday,  be  ordered  to  read  publicly  the  said  opin- 
ion and  admonition  inunediately  after  divine  service  in 
the  forenoon." 

All  these  efforts,  however,  did  not  produce  harmony. 
Moulinars  had  evidently  a  restless  spirit,  and  was  much 
opposed  to  the  Cliurch  of  England,  then  the  established 
religion  of  the  New  York  colony,  and  he  was  respected 
by  the  Huguenot  colonists  or  French  refugees.  Through 
his  efforts  a  "meeting-house,"  as  it  is  called,  was  erected 


124  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

for  the  French  Protestants  at  New  Roclielle,  its  members 
numbering  one  hundred  persons.  An  old  document  of 
May  12,  1725,  records,  "that  the  same  Mr.  Moulinars 
has  declared  (as  can  be  proved),  that  he  finds  our 
Church  (Episcopal)  and  that  of  Rome  as  like  one  another 
as  two  fishes  can  be ;  .  .  .  and  one  of  the  chiefest  rea- 
sons of  this  violence  against  Mr.  Ron  has  no  other 
ground  than  his  constant  affection  to  the  Church,  and 
the  public  approbation  he  has  at  all  times  given  to  its 
ceremonies  and  doctrines."  The  Churchmen  complained 
that  Moulinars  caused  "great  prejudice  in  general  to  the 
Church  of  England,  and  in  particular  to  that  of  New 
Rochelle,  where  he  would  come  quarterly,  from  New 
York,  and  j)lead  among  the  people."  New  Rochelle 
was  then  a  parish,  and  its  rector,  of  course,  considered 
the  French  pastor  a  dissenter.  From  the  parochial  ac- 
count of  the  former,  at  this  period,  the  town  (New 
Rochelle)  embraced  two  Quaker  families,  three  Dutch, 
four  Lutherans,  and  several  of  the  French  ;  and  the 
Huguenots,  settling  among  them  in  the  year  1726,  gath- 
ered a  congregation  of  about  one  hundred  persons. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Neau  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
eminence — his  life  useful,  beneficial,  and  pious.  Previ- 
ous to  his  escape  from  the  religious  persecution  of 
France,  he  suffered  confinement  for  several  years  in 
the  prisons  and  gaUeys,  and,  during  his  dungeon  life, 
learned  by  heart  the  liturgy,  and  became  attached  to  the 
English  Church  service. 

When  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  was  the  first  rector  of 
Trinity  Church,  he  appoint(xl  Mr.  Neau  catechist.  For 
a  number  of  3-ears  he  faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  125 

this  important  appointment  among  the  Indians  and  the 
slaves,  of  whom  some  fifteen  hundred  were  catechumens 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  could  only  gather  them  on 
Sunday  nights,  after  the  last  public  services.  When 
properly  prepared,  he  would  present  them  to  Mr.  Vesey 
for  baptism.  Mr.  Neau  may  be  said  to  have  founded 
the  well-known  Free  School  of  Trinity,  an  institution  so 
useful  among  the  noble  charities  of  our  city.  This  ex- 
cellent Huguenot  preacher  closed  his  profitable  life  in 
the  year  1722,  and  was  buried  near  the  northern  porch 
of  old  Trinity,  that  holy  t(,^mple  of  the  Lord,  where  he 
had  long  worshipiDed  and  served  Hun.  Here  the  remains 
of  many  French  Protestants  repose  among  the  innumera- 
ble dead  of  that  crowded  and  venerable  graveyard  ;  and 
here  may  be  found  memorials  of  their  honor,  patriotism, 
and  evangelical  piety. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Neau,  with  his  wife,  Susannah,  and 
daughter,  Judith,  left  France  for  America,  with  other 
Huguenots,  about  the  year  1685.  Judith  married  a 
Robineau  in  New  York,  and  their  only  child  became 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Ayrault.  Their  issue  was  six  sons 
and  five  daughters  ;  and  the  second  son,  Daniel,  married 
Susannah  Eargrass,  whose  children  were  Daniel  and 
Mary  Aja^ault.  Mary  became  the  wife  of  Benjamin 
Mason,  whose  children  were  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. The  eldest  son,  Benjamin  Mason,  M.  D.,  was 
educated  in  England,  marrying  Margaret  Champlin,  of 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  their  issue  was  three  sons 
and  one  daughter.  This  daughter,  Elizabeth  Champlin 
Mason,  was  the  wife  of  the  brave  and  patriotic  Caj)tain 
Oliver  II.  Perry,  of  tlie  United  States  navy,  who  died 


126  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

defending  the  standard  of  liis  country.  From  this  last 
union  were  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  Elizabetli  Mason 
Perrj^  This  hidy  married  the  Rev.  Francis  Vinton, 
D.  D.,  and  their  chiklren  make  the  eighth  generation 
from  this  reverend  and  early  Huguenot. 

The  year  1686  was  remarkable  for  adding  a  large  Hu- 
guenot population  to  the  society  of  New  York.  Many 
French  refugees,  for  a  time  in  the  islands  of  St.  Christo- 
pher and  Martinique,  at  last  found  a  safe  home  among 
the  tolerant  Dutch  of  New  York.  In  1695  their  number 
had  increased  to  two  hundred  families,  distinguished  for 
their  social  influence  and  religious  fidelity.  Many  of 
them  became  prominent  and  valuable  citizens.  Johan- 
nes Delamontaigne  was  one  of  this  number,  and  was 
honored  by  Governor  Kieft  with  an  ax^pointment  as  a 
member  of  the  council,  the  second  ofiice  in  the  gift  of 
the  government.  He  purcliased  a  farm  of  some  two 
hundred  acres,  at  Harlem,  for  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars,  calling  it  the  "  Vredendal,"  or  Valley  of  Peace. 
It  was  situated  east  of  the  Eighth  Avenue,  between 
Ninety-tliird  street  and  Harlem  River.  A  grandson  of 
his,  named  Vincent,  born  April  22d,  died  May  26th, 
1773,  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  six- 
teen years.  Numerous  descendants  are  now  among  our 
citizens  from  this  early  Huguenot  emigrant,  but  some 
with  abbreviated  names. 

What  New  Yorker  does  not  remember  the  name  of  the 
venerable  John  Pintard,  LL.D.?  He  was  a  communicant 
of  Saint  Esj^rit,  an  honored  citizen,  a  philanthropist, 
and  lover  of  the  Bible.  In  his  ''Recollections,"  he  says 
that  ' '  the  holy  sacrament  was  administered  to  the  Hu- 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK,  127 

guenots  at  New  Roclielle  four  times  a  year — viz. ,  Christ- 
mas, Easter,  Whitsunday,  and  the  middle  of  September. 
During  the  intermission  that  occurred,  the  communicants 
walked  to  New  York  for  that  purpose.  Prior  to  their 
departure  on  a  Sunday,  they  always  collected  the  young 
children  and  left  them  in  the  care  of  friends,  while  they 
set  off  early  in  the  morning,  barefooted,  carrying  their 
shoes  and  stocMngs  in  their  hands.  They  were  accus- 
tomed to  stop  at  a  rock  about  twelve  miles  from  New 
York,  to  rest  and  take  some  refreshment,  .  .  .  where  they 
put  on  their  shoes  and  stockings.  They  then  walked  to 
the  French  church,  where  they  generally  arrived  by  the 
time  service  began.  The  interval  between  the  morning 
and  afternoon  services  was  shortened  for  their  accommo- 
dation, as  they  had  to  walk  home  again  the  same  evening 
to  their  families.  They  continued  to  worship  after  this 
manner  till  the  American  Revolution  broke  out,  when 
this  part  of  the  country  became  harassed  and  overrun 
by  the  British  troops..  They  commenced  their  march 
invariably,  on  Sunday  morning,  by  singing  one  of  the 
psalms  of  Clement  Marot.  The  sixtieth  psalm,  so  appro- 
priate to  their  situation,  was,  perha]os,  their  greatest 
favorite."  What  a  strildng  example  of  Christian  humil- 
ity, fidelity,  zeal,  and  devotion!  Mr.  Pintard,  after  a 
long  life  of  honorable  usefulness,  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-five,  in  the  year  1844. 

In  the  early  psalmody  of  the  Huguenots,  every  psalm 
in  French  version  and  metre  had  its  own  particular  tune. 
The  words  and  music  both  were  written  on  the  stave, 
either  in  their  devotional  books,  or  appended  to  their 
printed  Bible.     Such  Bibles,  published  at  Amsterdam, 


128  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

have  been  found  in  our  day.  We  quote,  as  a  specimen, 
a  part  of  tlie  one  hundred  and  thirty- seventh  Psalm,  as  it 
stands  in  our  English  Bible,  and  then  the  corresponding 
French  verses,  as  sung  by  the  Huguenots.  The  music 
was  as  low,  plaintive  chant,  in  the  minor  key,  but  beau- 
tifully adapted  to  the  subject.  It  is  not  the  style  of 
modern  psalmody ;  but  those  who  have  listened  to  the 
sacred  music  of  the  Protestant  French  Church,  and  the 
same  as  used  centuries  ago,  will  not  forget  how  delight- 
fully it  harmonizes  with  the  solemnity  of  public  Christian 
worship. 

Psalm  cxxivn. — "By  the  rivers  of  Babylon  there  we  sat  down;  yea,  we 
wept,  when  we  remembered  Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  npon  the  willows,  in 
the  midst  thereof.  For  there  they  that  carried  us  away  captive  required  of  us 
a  song ;  and  they  that  wasted  us  required  of  us  mirth,  saying.  Sing  us  one  of 
the  songs  of  Zion.     How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land?" 

Here  is  the  old  French  translation,  as  sung  by  the 
Huguenots : 

"  Etans  assis  aux  rives  aquatiques  de  Babilon, 
Pleurions  melancoliques. 
Nous  souvenans  du  pays  de  Sion, 
Et  au  milieu  de  I'habitation, 
0^  de  regrets  tant  de  pleurs  epandimes 
Aux  saules  verts  nos  harpes  nous  pendimes. 
Lors  ceux  qui  la  captifs  nous  emmenerent, 
De  les  sonner  fort  nous  importunaient, 
Et  de  Sion  les  chansons  reciter. 
Las!  dimes  nous,  qui  pourroit  inciter 
Nos  tristes  cceurs  a  chanter  la  loiiange 
Do  notre  Dieu  en  un  terre  etrange  ?" 

On  this  venerable  spot  of  the  Saint  Esprit,  in  Pine 
street,  the  French  Protestant  congregations  continued  to 
assemble  and  worship  for  the  long  space  of  one  hundred 
and   thirty  years.      In  1834,  they  sold  this  property. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  129 

erecting  the  elegant  white  marble  edifice  on  Franklin, 
corner  of  Church  street.  It  cost  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars.* 

Fourteen  ministers  have  officiated  in  this  congrega- 
tion since  its  establishment,  and  most  only  for  a  short 
time.  During  the  year  1828,  the  Rev.  Antoine  Yerren 
became  pastor,  succeeding  the  Rev.  Mr.  Penneveyre. 
The  old  Church  was  organized  according  to  the  doctrine 
and  discipline  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  and 
Geneva,  and  continued  so  until  the  year  1804,  when  pas- 
tor and  people  resolved  to  conform  to  the  Episcopal 
Church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Verren  has  now  faithfully  occu- 
pied this  field  of  Christian  labor  for  nearly  forty  years, 
and  still  conducts  the  services  of  the  sanctuary  in  the 
same  language  so  eloquently  used  by  Claude,  Saurin, 
and  other  Huguenot  evangelical  preachers,  two  centu- 
ries ago ! 

What  brilliant  sacred  orators  must  such  men  have 
been !  At  one  period,  many  of  their  descendants  filled 
the  pulpits  of  Amsterdam,  the  Hague,  Rotterdam,  Ley- 
den,  and  Harlaem,  greatly  contributing  to  preserve  the 
renown  of  these  well-known  Reformed  Churches.  Their 
French  style  produced  a  real  revolution  in  Dutch 
preaching,  which  then  became  entirely  remodelled  after 
the  French  Protestant  mannei',  ever  since  maintaining 
an  elevated  rank.  James  Saurin  was  born  at  Nismes, 
in  the  year  1677,  and  soon,  with  his  pious  father,  fled  to 
Geneva,  for  religion' s  sake.  Here,  finishing  his  studies, 
he  began  to  preach,  and  became  minister  to  the  French 

*  This  sacred  edifice  has  been  sold,  and  a  new,  beautiful  one  erected  on 
Twenty-second  street. 

9 


130  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Protestant  Church  in  London,  where  he  took  for  his 
model  the  celebrated  Tillotson.  AVhen  the  Avell-known 
Abbadie  here  heard  the  young  Huguenot  for  the  first 
time,  he  exclaimed:  "Is  this  a  man  or  an  angel  who  is 
speaking  to  usV 

In  1705,  we  find  Saurin  at  the  Hague,  preaching  with 
the  most  astonishing  success.  The  elevation  of  his 
thoughts,  brilliancy  of  imagination,  with  a  luminous 
exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  joroduced  the  liveliest 
impression  on  the  crowds  thronging  the  sacred  temple 
to  hear  him.  It  is  not  hard  to  judge  what  must  have 
been  the  effects  produced  by  that  noble  and  melodious 
voice,  which  resounded  for  five  and  twenty  years  under 
the  vaulted  aisles  of  this  tabernacle  at  the  Hague. 
Nothing  can  convey  a  clearer  idea  of  his  influence  than 
the  diligence  with  which  his  sermons  continue  to  be  read 
in  our  day.  Tliey  contain  passages,  in  our  opinion  and 
to  our  taste,  deserving  to  be  ranked  among  the  master- 
pieces of  human  or  sacred  eloquence. 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN  NEW  YORK.  131 


CHAPTER  XIL 

WALL     STREET     PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH ITS     ORIGIN     AND     EARLIEST 

PREACHERS CHURCH     ERECTED      ON     WALL      STREET WHITEFIELD 

LABORS DIFFERENCE    OF    OPINION    IN    THE    CONGREGATION FIRST 

ASSOCIATE      REFORMED     CHURCH,    BUILT      ON      CEDAR     STREET REV. 

JOHN    MURRAY NOTICE    OF    HIS    LIFE    AND    LABORS. 

More  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  (1707) 
tlie  first  steps  were  taken  to  commence  a  Presbyte- 
rian cliurcli  in  our  city.  The  Dutch  Calvinists  among 
the  Hollanders,  the  French  Protestants  or  refugees  of 
the  Geneva  school,  with  the  Episcopalians,  then  formed 
principally  the  religious  community.  A  few  Presbyte- 
rians, assembling  on  the  Sabbath,  worshipped  in  a  pri- 
vate house.  During  the  year  1707,  the  Revs.  Francis 
McKemie  and  John  Hampton,  two  Presbj^terian  minis- 
ters, visited  New  York,  from  Maryland  and  Virginia,  on 
their  way  to  Boston. 

Mr.  William  Jackson  invited  Mr.  McKemie  to  preach 
at  his  house,  in  the  lower  part  of  Pearl  street,  where  he 
met  a  small  audience,  and  baptized  a  child.'-  He  then 
visited  Ne^vtown,  Long  Island.  But  a  higher  authority 
now  interfered  with  his  movements.  A  bigot,  Lord 
Cornbury,  governor  of  the  New  York  Province,  ordered 
Mr.  McKemie' s  arrest,  by  the  sheriff  of  Queen' s  county, 
and  his  imprisonment,  for  discharging  his  ministerial 
duties  without  a  license.     After  two  months'  confine- 

*  Miller's  Life  of  Rodgers. 


132  EAELIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

ment,  he  was  discharged  Ib}^  Jiaheas  corpus,  before  the 
chief-justice.  Thank  God  for  this  glorious,  venerable, 
and  righteous  privilege  of  Christian  civilization !  Mr, 
Hampton,  not  having  preached  in  the  city,  was  entirely 
discharged,  and  McKemie  admitted  to  bail.  In  a  few 
months  he  returned  to  New  York  from  Virginia  for  trial, 
and,  although  acquitted  by  the  civil  court,  was  compelled 
to  pay  the  costs  of  suit,  amounting  to  eighty-three  pounds 
seven  shillings  and  sixpence.  He  published  his  trial  in 
a  pamphlet. '^• 

Notwithstanding  this  persecution,  the  little  band  of 
Presbyterians  did  not  disperse  for  the  next  ten  years, 
but  continued  public  worship  occasionally  in  the  Garden 
Street  Dutch  Church.  In  1717,  John  Nicholl,  Patrick 
McKnight,  Gilbert  Livingston,  Thomas  Smith,  with  a  few 
others,  organized  a  congregation  according  to  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland.  They 
called  the  Rev.  James  Anderson,  an  ordained  Scotch- 
man, but  at  the  time  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Pres- 
bytery. The  new  church  was  connected  with  this  body, 
so  that  the  old  Wall  street  congregation  was  never  Con- 
gregational, as  has  been  asserted. 

There  was  at  one  time  a  small  division  of  the  congre- 
gation in  favor  of  New  England  usages,  and  the  tempo- 
rary secessionists  obtained  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Edwards,  but  only  for  one  winter,  when  most  of  them 
returned  to  the  old  fold.  Mr.  Edwards  became  after- 
wards the  celebrated  minister  of  Northampton  ;  but 
at  this  time  he  was  a  candidate,  and  only  nineteen 
years  of  age.     After  preaching  to  this  g(^parate  organ- 

*  Smith's  History  of  New  York. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW  YORK,  133 

ization  for  eight  months,  he  declined  to  remain  perma- 
nently. 

Mr.  Anderson,  with  his  people,  first  met  in  the  old 
City  Hall,  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and  Nassau  streets,  the 
place  being  granted  by  the  corporation  of  the  city,  and 
here  they  worshipped  about  three  years. 

The  following  year,  1718,  they  purchased  lots  on  Wall 
street,  near  Broadway,  and  in  1719  erected  their  first 
church.  Towards  its  building  aid  was  obtained  abroad : 
"Cor."  sent  a  donation,  with  a  considerable  sum  from 
Scotland.  A  charter  was  obtained  in  1720  from  the 
"Council,"  but  it  was  defeated  by  the  interference  and 
opposition  of  the  Vestry  of  th(^  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  Old  Trinity  had  great  influence  at  court  in  that 
early  and  illiberal  day,  and  for  more  than  half  a  century 
the  authorities  obstinately  refused  a  charter  of  incorpo- 
ration to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York.  This 
is  history,  and  is  mentioned  without  unkindness  to  the 
living  or  the  dead.  This  hardship  was  more  severe 
from  the  fact  that  legacies  left  to  the  Presbyterians  could 
not  be  legally  received,  althougli  that  denomination  was 
paying  its  full  proportion  of  expense  to  support  the 
Established  religion.  To  meet  this  serious  difficulty,  it 
was  resolved  to  vest  the  fee  of  their  church  and  ground 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
This  body  temporarily  held  the  important  trust,  and, 
after  the  American  Revolution,  reconverted  the  jiroperty 
to  the  trustees  of  the  Wall  Street  Church. 

In  1726,  Mr.  Anderson  was  called  to  a  church  in  New 
Donegal,  Pennsylvania,  when  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Pem- 
berton  became  the   second  pastor  of  tlie  Wall  Str(^et 


134  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Churcli  the  next  year,  and  AYas  ordained  for  the  purpose, 
in  Boston,  August  4th.  During  his  ministry  the  cele- 
brated George  Whitelield  visited  America,  in  1740,  and 
Mr.  Pemberton  was  the  only  minister  of  our  city  who 
opened  liis  pulpit  to  liis  use.  For  this  kindness  God 
recompensed  him,  as  a  number  of  individuals  and  fami- 
lies were  brought  into  tlie  church  during  Mr.  White- 
field's  labors.  So  great  was  the  increase  that  it  became 
necessary  to  enlarge  the  Wall  Street  Church  in  1748.  On 
this  occasion  the  tablet  of  the  new  edifice  was  obtained 
from  Boston,  with  a  Latin  inscription,  of  which  this  is 
the  translation : 

"Under  favor  of  God,  this  edifice,  sacred  to  the  per- 
petual celebration  of  divine  worship,  first  erected  in 
1719 — again  thoroughly  repaired  and  built  larger  and 
more  beautiful  in  1748 — the  Presbyterians  of  New  York 
founding,  for  their  own  and  children' s  use,  have  given, 
presented,  and  dedicated,  and  more  illustriously  adorned 
by  religious  concord,  love,  and  the  purit}^  of  faith, 
worshix?,  and  discipline.  May  it,  by  favor  of  Christ, 
endure  to  many  generations."  It  has  endured  and  wiU 
endure ! 

On  the  wall,  over  the  "magistrate's  pew,"  was  placed 
this  inscription,  in  Latin:  "Under  the  auspices  of 
George  II. ,  King  of  Great  Britain,  Patron  of  the  Church, 
and  Defender  of  the  Faith." 

Whitefield'  s  zealous  ministry  was  also  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  Philadelphia.  On  one  occasion,  whilst  preach- 
ing in  the  open  air,  a  young  lad  of  twelve  years  was 
among  his  hearers.  For  the  accommodation  of  the 
preacher  he  held  a  lantern,  but  was  so  deeply  impressed 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK.  135 

by  tlie  discourse  that  lie  could  scarcely  stand,  and  un- 
consciously the  light  fell,  and  it  was  broken  and  extin- 
guished. But  these  gracious  impressions  resulted  in 
liis  conversion  to  the  Saviour.  This  youth  was  John 
Rodgers,  afterwards  Doctor,  who  subsequently  served 
as  pastor  of  the  Wall  Street  Church  with  such  great 
fidelity  and  success  for  over  half  a  century.  What  a 
wonderful  man  was  George  Whitefield !  He  remarked 
to  Mr.  Rodgers,  on  one  occasion,  that  he  was  tlie  four- 
teenth person  he  had  met  in  the  ministry  whose  conver- 
sion liad  followed  his  first  visit  to  America. 

In  1750,  the  congregation  continuing  to  increase,  Alex- 
ander Cummings  was  called  to  be  the  colleague  of  Mr. 
Pemberton,  and  ordained  as  such  in  1750.  Both  soon 
after  resigned.  Shortly  after  tliis,  a  call  was  presented 
to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy,  of  Bethlehem,  Connecticut, 
which  he  declined.  It  was  repeated  and  urged,  but  he 
still  refused.  Then  the  Rev.  John  Rodgers,  of  St. 
George's,  Delaware,  was  invited  to  be  pastor,  and  he 
also,  with  the  Rev.  David  McGregor,  of  Londonderry, 
New  Hampshire,  declined.     After  two  years,  in  Jul}^, 

1755,  the  Rev.  David  Bostwick,  pastor  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  was  called,  and  he 
accepted  in  1756.  The  settlement  of  Mr.  Bostwick  does 
not  appear  to  have  entirely  healed  the  division  in  the 
Wall  Street  Church.  In  our  day  of  universal  music,  it 
seems  strange  that  the  subject  of  "Psalmody"  should 
create  serious  differences  among  church  members.  But 
so  it  did  then,  and  a  few,  dissatisfied  with  the  Wall 
Street  Church  on  this  subject,  ultimately  withdrew  in 

1756,  forming  the  First  Associate  Reformed  Church  in 


136  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Cedar  street,  now  the  "Scotch  Presbyterian  Church," 
or  Seceders. 

In  October,  1762,  the  Rev.  Josepli  Treat,  of  New 
Brunswick,  became  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Bostwick,  and 
the  following  year  he  Avas  removed  by  death,  but  be- 
loved by  all.  During  the  spring  of  1764,  the  Wall 
Street  Church  invited  the  Rev.  John  Murray,  recently 
from  Ireland,  to  become  Mr.  Treat's  colleague,  but  he 
declined,  and  afterwards  settled  in  Newburyport,  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  congregation  now  renewed  the  invita- 
tion which  they  had  presented  ten  years  before  to  the 
Rev.  John  Rodgers.  He  accepted,  and  was  installed 
September  4, 1765.  The  church  revived  and  was  greatly 
increased,  so  that  a  second  place  for  divine  worship 
soon  became  necessary.  Ground  was  accordingly  ob- 
tained by  a  perpetual  lease  from  the  Corporation,  for 
forty  pounds  a  year,  at  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Beek- 
man  streets.  This  section  was  then  called  "in  the 
fields,"  and  the  lot  known  as  the  "Vineyard."  Here 
the  "Brick  Meeting,"  the  second  Presbyterian  house 
of  the  Lord,  was  erected,  and  dedicated  January  1, 
1768. 

Many  members  of  the  Wall  Street  Church  were  among 
our  most  influential  families,  and  a  number  of  them  came 
from  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Ireland.  Here  worship- 
j)ed  Judge  Brockholst  Livingston,  David  Gelston,  Wil- 
liam Edgar,  Robert  Lenox,  Jacob  Morton,  Sylvanus 
Miller,  George  Douglas,  Dr.  Jolm  R.  B.  Rogers,  Thomas 
Renwick,  James  Manning,  Edward  H.  Nicoll,  Robert 
Speir,  Samuel  Campbell,  Dr.  Jolm  S.  McKnight,  Joseph 
Greenleaf,  the  Lowries,  Jolm  Greenfield,  John  Graham, 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  137 

William  Maitlancl,  D.  T.  Kennedy,  Mr.  Irwin,  De  Witt 
Clinton,  &c. — a  long,  useful,  and  pious  list.  To  one 
original  family  of  this  congregation  Princeton  College 
•  and  its  useful  seminaries  are  indebted  for  munificent 
benefactions. 

The  Rev.  John  Murray,  who  declined  a  call  to  the 
Wall  Street  Church,  was  an  extraordinary  and  noted 
man,  and  his  name  well  deserves  a  notice  in  our  histor- 
ical record.  Born  in  Antrim,  Ireland,  in  1742,  he  early 
entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and,  graduating 
with  high  honor,  he  conmienced  his  ministerial  life  when 
only  eighteen.  When  scarcely  twenty-one  he  reached 
this  country,  and  in  May,  1765,  was  ordained  and  settled 
as  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent's  successor  in  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia.  Here  his  labors 
were  very  successful,  but  in  the  year  1766,  he  became 
the  pastor  of  Boothbay. 

It  was  an  unpromising  field  when  he  entered  upon  his 
work,  but  his  congregation  soon  became  the  largest  in 
the  State.  People  would  travel  seven  and  even  ten 
miles  to  hear  him  preach.  He  was  an  eloquent  preacher 
and  a  most  faithful  pastor,  his  piety  like  incense,  both 
at  the  fireside  and  altar.  Going  from  house  to  house,  he 
exhorted  all  to  the  duties  of  piety.  In  the  year  1767, 
Mr.  Murray  organized  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Booth- 
bay,  where  he  administered  for  the  first  time  the  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord' s  Supper.  After  his  visit  to  Bristol, 
the  town  ajopointed  a  committee  "to  take  measures  to 
have  a  church  organized  on  the  Westminster  Confession 
and  Presbyterian  rules,"  and  which  he  accomplished 
during  the  year.     As  a  pulpit  orator,  maiiy,  Avho  had 


138  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

lieard  both,  ranked  him  not  inferior  to  the  great  White- 
field.  In  liis  manner,  he  was  somewhat  pompous,  but 
in  matter  solid,  solemn,  and  pathetic.  His  popularit}^ 
became  very  great,  and  he  possessed  one  peculiarity  which 
would  not  answer  at  all  in  our  "fast"  day — ^liis  sermons 
often  contmued  two  or  three  hours  long.  Great,  indeed, 
must  have  been  his  gifts,  to  have  kej)t  the  attention  of 
his  audiences  such  a  length  of  time. 

Mr.  Murray  always  had  an  answer  on  any  emergency. 
Judge  Kinkley,  a  "j^ilg^'ii^^''  descendant,  and  a  dispu- 
tatious man,  opposed  the  Scotch-Irish  in  Brunswick, 
Maine,  and  hearing  him  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  the 
preacher  said  something  which  he  did  not  relish,  when, 
stepping  into  the  aisle,  he  asked  Mr.  Murray  if  he  "knew 
in  whose  presence  he  stood."  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "in 
the  presence  of  a  judge  of  the  inferior  court  of  common 
pleas."  "Then,"  said  the  judge,  "I  will  say  unto  you 
as  the  Lord  said  unto  Elijah,  'What  dost  thou  here,' 
John  Murray?"  The  preacher  immediately  replied,  in 
Elijah's  answer,  "  I  have  been  very  zealous  for  the  Lord 
God  of  Hosts,"  &c.  (1  Kings  xix.  10) ;  and  taking  this  for 
a  text,  he  continued  his  discourse  an  hour  longer.  One 
of  his  early  opposers,  it  is  related,  at  Newburyport,  where 
he  afterwards  settled,  to  try  his  qualifications,  gave  him 
a  text  at  the  church  door.  Laying  aside  his  prepared 
sermon,  he  discoursed  with  such  ability  and  readiness 
as  disarmed  prejudice,  and  called  forth  at  the  moment 
the  extravagant  encomium,  that  the  preacher  had  not 
been  surpassed  since  the  Apostles'  days. 

The  war  of  the  American  Revolution  severely  affected 
Boothbay,  with  other  seaboard  towns.    Mr.  Murray,  zeal- 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   EN"   NEW   YORK.  139 

ously  espousing  the  caiise  of  freedom,  entered  into  the 
sentiments  of  his  ])arishioners,  and  adopted  country.  In 
the  year  1775,  lie  was  a  delegate  from  Bootlibay  or 
Townshend  to  the  Provincial  Congress  at  Watertown. 
At  one  time  he  acted  as  president  pro  tern,  of  that  body, 
as  well  as  its  secretary. 

When  Sir  George  Collier,  commodore  of  the  British 
squadron,  visited  this  harbor,  in  1777,  to  complain 
against  the  inhabitants,  he  invited  Mr.  Murray  on  board 
his  ship.  He  went,  and  soon  settled  the  difficulty. 
A  writer  on  board  describes  him  as  "a  cunning,  sensi- 
ble man,  who  had  acquired  a  wonderful  ascendency 
over,  and  had  the  entire  guidance  of,  all  the  people  in 
the  country  around  Townshend."  Early  in  the  war,  the 
British  cruisers  would  often  land  at  this  harbor  and  steal 
from  the  Whigs,  or  Patriots.  The  people  vainly  remon- 
strated with  the  officers,  when  they  obtained  Mr.  Mur- 
ray's  services.  The  minister,  donning  his  canonicals — 
wig,  gown,  and  bands — visited  the  enemy's  vessel,  and 
talked  with  such  power  and  eloquence,  that  the  inhabi- 
tants had  no  more  trouble.  One  writer  says  that  "the 
dignity  of  his  appearance  was  such,  that  all  the  minis- 
ters in  Maine  put  together  would  not  equal  him ;  that  he 
was  superior  in  personal  apj)earance  to  any  other  man 
that  ever  walked  God' s  footstool ;  that  if  he  had  not  said 
a  word,  such  was  the  grandeur  of  his  looks  that  he 
would  have  carried  his  point ;  and  that  the  officers  were 
greatly  surprised  to  see  such  a  specimen  of  dignity  coming 
from  the  State  of  Maine. ' '  In  such  an  extravagant  praise, 
much  allowance  must  certainly  be  made  for  the  warmth 
of  personal  friendsliip. 


140  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

But  Britisli  civilities  did  not  long  last  towards  the 
Presbj^terian  preacher.  In  1770,  so  active  had  he  be- 
come for  the  defence  of  the  eastward,  that  a  reward  of 
five  hundred  pounds  was  offered  for  his  apprehension, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  leave  home  for  a  more  safe  shel- 
ter. When  Newbuiyport  was  called  on  to  furnish  a 
company  for  actual  service,  during  three  days  no  re- 
sponse was  made.  On  the  fourth,  however,  Mr.  Mur- 
ray addressed  the  regiment  then  under  arms  with  great 
animation  and  success,  after  which  a  member  of  his 
church  stepped  forward  to  take  the  command,  and  in 
two  hours  the  ranks  of  the  new  company  were  filled. 

Mr.  Murray' s  residence  at  Boothbay  was  quite  remote 
and  retired ;  and  he  received  several  invitations  to  be- 
come pastor  at  Newburyport,  but  declined  them.  He 
was  even  invited  to  the  pulpit  of  Queen's  Chapel,  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  by  the  Episcopal  church- war- 
dens and  parish,  with  a  high  salary,  1773.  This  must 
have  been  a  "very  low"  Church,  and  no  great  advo- 
cates of  what  some  Churchmen  insist  upon— "the  true 
apostolic  succession."  He  replied,  however,  tliat  he  was 
conscientiously  a  Presbyterian,  and  declined  their  gen- 
erous offer.  Newburyport  still  urging  their  claims  on 
him,  in  1781  he  became  pastor  of  that  congregation.  His 
salary  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds — and  one  hun- 
dred pounds  additional  being  voted  to  him  from  year  to 
year.  Here  he  preached  nearly  twelve  years,  to  an  im- 
mense congregation,  numbering  two  thousand.  He  had 
a  number  of  theological  students.  j\Ir.  Murray  died  at 
Newburyport,  in  1793,  aged  fifty-one,  in  great  patience, 
resignation,  and  piety.     He  evidently  had  to  encounter 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK.  141 

strong  prejudices  through  life,  which  greatly  circum- 
scribed his  usefulness.  Some  pulpits  were  even  closed 
against  him ;  and  on  one  occasion,  we  read  that  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Spring,  a  man  of  strong  passions,  at  a 
funeral  where  both  officiated,  refused  to  shake  hands 
with  Mr.  MuiTa}^  Some  rhymester  then  wrote  these 
lines : 

"  Parson  Spring  began  to  fling, 
And  seemed  to  be  in  a  hurry ; 
He  couldn't  staj'  to  hear  him  pray, 
Because  'twas  Parson  Murray." 

Dr.  Spring  was  a  Hopkinsian,  and  preached  against 
original  sin,  when  Mr.  Murray  delivered  some  sermons 
in  reply,  and,  possessing  wit,  he  wrote  on  the  title-page 
of  a  book  which  Dr.  Spring  had  published  : 

"What  mortal  power,  from  things  unclean. 
Can  pure  productions  bring? 
Who  can  command  a  vital  stream 
From  an  infected  Spring  ?" 

Although  ]\Ir.  Murray  did  not  accejDt  the  call  to  the 
Wall  Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  1764,  still  he  occu- 
pied a  very  important  charge  in  the  very  place  where 
Whitefiekr  s  ashes  slumber,  and  where  he  often  rekin- 
dled his  burning  fires. 


142  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

WALL  STREET  AND    BRICK    CHURCHES REV.  DR.  RODGERS  THE  "FATHER 

OF     PRESBYTERIANISM"     in     new     YORK  REV,     GARDINER     SPRING 

CALLED    TO    BRICK    CHURCH HIS    CHURCH    TURNED    INTO  A  HOSPITAL 

IN    THE     \VAR     OF    THE     REVOLUTION SORROWFUL    SCENES    IN    IT 

WALL     STREET    CHURCH    "  CHARITY    SCHOOL" RUTGERS    AND    CEDAR 

STREET    CHURCHES    BUILT DRS.    MILLER    AND     McKNIGHT REV.    MR. 

WHELPLEY DR.    PHILLIPS WALL     STREET    CHURCH     REMOVED     TO 

JERSEY    CITY MEMBERS   OF  THE   BRICK   CHURCH ANSON    G.  PHELPS 

HORACE    IIOLDEN. 

During  the  montli  of  September,  1844,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  new  and  elegant  Presbyterian  cliurch, 
one  hundred  and  nineteen  feet  long  and  eighty-five 
wide,  was  laid  on  Fifth  Avenue,  between  Eleventh  and 
Twelfth  streets.  It  cost  fifty-five  thousand  dollars,  and 
opened  for  divine  worshij)  January  11,  1846 — the  old 
pastor.  Dr.  Phillips  (who  had  preached  to  this  people 
twenty  3^ears),  delivering  the  dedication  sermon  from 
Psalm  cxxiv.  1-3:  "If  it  had  not  been  the  Lord  who 
was  on  our  side,  now  may  Israel  say  ;  if  it  had  not  been 
the  Lord  who  was  on  our  side,  when  men  rose  up 
against  us  ;  then  they  had  swallowed  us  up  quick, 
when  their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us."  One  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  before,  the  first  movements  had 
been  made  to  organize  a  Presbyterian  congregation  in 
our  city ;  and  the  preacher,  adopting  the  language  of 
the  text,  recalled  to  tli^e  minds  of  his  congregation  the 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW  YORK.  143 

marked,  successful,  and  gracious  history  of  tliis  branch 
of  Christ's  Church/-'  Well  might  he  record  the  faithful- 
ness and  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord,  who  had  for 
so  long  a  period  supplied  this  people  with  able  and 
pious  ministers.  Truly  may  Dr.  Phillips  and  his  flock 
be  thankful  to  the  Great  Shepherd  of  souls,  that  after 
thirty-eight  years'  zeal,  labors,  and  prayers,  he  is  still 
permitted  to  continue  their  spiritual  oversight ! 

The  angular  lot  upon  which  the  "Brick  Church," 
afterwards  known  as  "Dr.  Spring's,"  was  built,  tradi- 
tionally had  borne  the  name  of  "The  Vineyard."  It 
was  granted  by  the  City  Corporation,  at  a  rent  of  forty 
pounds  per  annum,  to  Dr.  Eodgers  and  Joseph  Treat, 
ministers,  with  John  Morris  Scott,  Peter  R.  Livingston, 
and  others,  trustees,  for  an  indefinite  period.  Its  iron 
railing,  for  so  many  years  enclosing  the  old  church,  was 
removed  and  placed  around  the  residence  of  Mr.  J.  T. 
Stranahan,  South  Brooklyn, 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  collegiate  connection 
between  the  Wall  Street  and  the  Brick  Churches,  Dr. 
Rodgers  became  sole  pastor  of  the  latter ;  but  his  infirm- 
ities and  age  soon  released  him  from  public  duty.  A  call 
was  presented,  then,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell, 
of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey ;  next,  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Andrew  Gates,  East  Hartford  ;  but  both  were  declined. 
Three  efibrts  were  also  made  to  induce  the  Rev.  Lyman 
Beecher,  of  East  Hampton,  Long  Island,  but  for  want 
of  harmony  this  measure  also  failed,  and  so  did  the 
attempt  to  procure  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Spence, 
of  Virginia. 

*  Dr.  Phillips's  "Memorial  of  the  Goodness  of  God." 


144  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IT^   NEW   YORK. 

The  last  official  act  of  Mr.  Spring' s  venerable  prede- 
cessor, the  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  was  to  lay  his  hands  upon 
his  youthful  head  in  tlie  ordination  service,  August  8, 
1810.  Soon  after,  in  the  following  IMay,  this  beloved 
and  eminent  preacher  of  Christ  entered  into  the  upper 
sanctuary.  Dr.  Rodgers  has  been  justly  called  the 
"Father  of  Presbyterianism"  in  the  city  of  New  York ; 
Dr.  Miller  and  Dr.  McKnight  were  copastors  with  him, 
but  he  was  their  senior  in  their  sacred  office.  The  Wall 
Street  and  Brick  Churches  united  in  asking  that  both 
miglit  equally  provide  the  salary  for  this  veteran  of  the 
cross,  and  that  he  might  be  regarded,  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  as  their  senior  pastor.  He  literally  went  from  door 
to  door  soliciting  help  to  erect  the  "  Brick  Church,"  and 
thus  accommodate  the  people  then  living  out  of  town.  "^'^ 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1810,  the  session  passed  a  resolu- 
tion inviting  the  Rev.  Gardiner  Spring  to  this  pulpit. 
Accepting  the  invitation,  he  occupied  the  pulpit  on  the 
first  Sabbath  in  June,  preaching  in  the  morning  from 
the  words  :  "  Wherefore,  come  ye  out  from  among  them 
and  be  ye  separate,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing, 
and  I  will  be  a  father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons 
and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Ahnighty."  In  the  even- 
ing his  text  was,  to  a  crowded  audience,  "  By  the  grace 
of  God,  I  am  what  I  am." 

Dr.  Milledoler,  pastor  of  the  Rutgers  street  congrega- 
tion, presided  at  the  meeting  called  to  make  the  applica- 
tion to  Mr.  Spring.  He  was  then  ordained  b}^  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York,  and  installed  pastor  x\ugust  8, 
1810.      The  Presbytery  which  performed  tliis   solemn 

*  Dr.  Sorinor'a  Memorial  Meclins, 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES    IN   NEW    YORK.  145 

duty  consisted  of  Dr.  Rodgers,  Rev.  George  Fatoute, 
Rev.  Peter  Fisli,  Rev.  Philip  MiUedoler,  Rev.  Samuel 
Miller,  Rev.  John  B.  Romeyn,  with  the  Rev.  Ezra 
Stiles  Ely— and  not  one  now  remains!  "The  fathers, 
where  are  they  ?  And  the  prophets,  do  they  live  for- 
ever?" 

Pleasant  and  favorable  as  this  new  era  was  in  the 
history  of  the  congregation,  the  old  church  had  wit- 
nessed strange  and  sorrowful  scenes  in  its  earlier  days. 
When  tlie  British  forces  held  the  city,  this  sacred  edi- 
fice was  used  for  a  soldier's  hospital;  and  avc  find  an 
interesting  reminiscence  from  the  narrative  of  Levi  Han- 
ford,  Delaware  county.  New  York.     In  1775  he  entered 
Lee's  army,  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  ordered 
to  break  ground  for  the  first  fortifications  on  Governor's 
Island.     Afterwards,  captured  by  the  Tories,  he  was 
imprisoned  in  that   horrid  "Black  Hole,"  the  "Old 
Sugar  House."     Here,  crowded  with  four  hundred  or 
five  hundred  American  prisoners,  amidst  its  bad  air  and 
diet,  he  took  the  small-pox,  and  was  removed  to  the 
small-pox  hospital.    Some  of  his  brave  companions  there 
ended  their  suff'ermgs  by  death ;   but,  recovering  him- 
self, he  soon  again  returned  to  the  prison.     Sickness 
once  more  prostrated  him,  and   he  was   taken  to  the 
"Quaker  Meeting  Hospital"— the  old  Quaker  Meeting- 
house in  Liberty  street— but  slowly  recovered,  amidst 
scenes  of  disease  and  death.     Ilanford  was  next  trans- 
ferred, with  two  hundred  others,  to  the  dreadful  hold 
of  the  prison-ship  "  Good  Intent, "  at  anchor  in  thelN-orth 
River.     Famine  and  pestilence  soon  reduced  the  poor, 
crowded,  captive  soldiers,  in  two  short  months,  to  less 
10 


146  EAELIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

than  one  luindred  !  When  the  river  began  to  freeze,  in 
December  (1777),  this  floating  pest-house  removed  to 
the  Wallabout,  alongside  of  the  Avell-kno^vn  "Jersey," 
of  terrific  memory,  where  lier  decayed  hnlk  long  re- 
mained, a  striking  monument  of  the  spot  where  thou- 
sands of  brave  hearts  and  lives  were  sacrificed  to  British 
cruelty. 

Here,  again,  our  prisoner  being  taken  sick,  with  sev- 
eral comiDanions,  amidst  snow  and  floating  ice,  was  sent, 
in  a  leaky  boat,  half  filled  witli  water,  to  the  ''hospital 
in  Dr.  Rodgers'  Brick  Meeting-house."  Hanford  writes : 
"One  poor  fellow  that  could  not  sit  up,  we  had  to  haul 
on  the  gunnel  of  the  boat,  to  keep  his  head  out  of  water ; 
but  he  got  wet,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes  after  he  was 
got  on  shore."  .  .  .  "From  the  yard  I  carried  one  end 
of  a  bunk,  from  which  some  person  had  just  died,  into 
the  church,  and  got  into  it,  exhausted  and  overcome." 
..."  I  had  now  to  remain  here  a  long  time,  on  account 
of  my  feet.  And  of  all  places,  that  was  the  last  to  be 
coveted ;  disease  and  death  reigned  there  in  all  their 
terrors.  I  have  had  men  die  by  the  side  of  me  in  the 
night,  and  have  seen  fifteen  dead  bodies,  sewed  up  in 
their  blankets,  laid  in  the  corner  of  the  yard  at  one  time, 
th(i  product  of  one  twenty-four  hours.  Ever^^  morning, 
at  eight  o'clock,  the  dead- cart  came,  the  bodies  were  put 
in,  the  men  drew  their  rum,  and  the  cart  was  driven  off 
to  the  trenches." 

Such  were  the  horrors  of  war  once  exhibited  in  the 
"Old  Brick  Church;"  and  few,  comparatively,  of  the 
myriads  who  have  there  joyfully  and  quietly  worship- 
ped God,  ever  imagined  that  such  melancholy  scenes 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  147 

were  once  witnessed  on  this  time-honored  and  sacred 
spot ! 

We  have  seen  when  the  "Brick  Church"  was  built 
and  dedicated,  on  January  1,  1768  —  ninety-six  years 
ago — and  that  it  was  a  branch  of  the  Wall  street  con- 
gregation. Its  corner-stone  was  laid  in  the  autumn  of 
1766.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  its  first  pastor,  preached 
the  opening  discourse,  and  a  large  congregation  soon 
assembled,  having  the  sanrie  trustees,  eldership,  and 
ministry,  with  the  one  worshipping  in  Wall  street.  The 
Revolutionary  War,  not  long  after,  scattered  most  of  the 
members,  as  the  Presbyterians  generally  espoused  the 
American  cause.  Most  of  the  Wall  Street  Church,  with 
their  pastors,  at  the  commencement  of  the  struggle, 
retired  from  the  city.  There  was  but  little  progress  in 
religion,  of  course,  during  a  state  of  war,  just  as  was  its 
patriotic  cause.  Confusion  and  ruin  followed  its  path — 
evils  of  sanguinary  warfare,  and  of  even  victory  itself. 
Wall  Street  Church  was  occupied  as  barracks  by  British 
soldiers,  and  the  "Brick  Church"  turned  into  a  hospi- 
tal. Their  ministers  retired  from  the  city,  My.  Treat 
never  returning ;  his  pastoral  relation  dissolved  Octo- 
ber 2,  1785.  Dr.  Rodgers  came  back  during  the  fall  of 
1783,  delivering  a  sermon  on  that  occasion  in  St.  George's 
Chapel,  Avhich  edifice,  with  St.  Paul's,  were  generously 
offered  to  the  Presbyterians  by  the  vestry  of  Trinity, 
until  their  churches  should  be  repaired.  This  is  an 
instance  of  true  Christian  liberality,  and  worthy  of 
record  and  imitation.  At  a  subsequent  period,  Trinity 
presented  a  lot  of  ground,  in  Robinson  street,  for  the 
use  of  the  "senior  Presbyterian  minister." 


148  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

The  Brick  Church  was  repaired  at  great  expense,  and 
was  reopened  in  June,  1784,  by  a  discourse  from  Dr. 
Rodgers,  from  tlie  words  of  tlie  Psalmist:  "I  was  glad 
when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord."  The  Wall  Street  Church  also  commenced  once 
more  its  regular  services  the  following  year,  when  the 
Rev.  James  Wilson  was  installed  as  colleague  with  Dr. 
Rodgers,  August  10, 1785.  He  remained,  however,  only 
two  years,  when,  his  health  requiring  a  milder  climate 
(1788),  he  settled  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The 
congregation,  for  a  few  months,  was  then  supplied  by 
two  candidates — the  Rev.  James  Muir,  from  Scotland, 
with  the  Rev.  Jedediah  Morse,  the  author  of  the  well- 
known  American  Geography.  As  the  two  churches 
became  about  equally  divided  in  their  choice  of  these 
ministers,  they  could  not  unite  in  a  call  for  eitheis  The 
next  year,  however,  they  called  the  Rev.  John  Mc- 
Kniglit,  who  was  installed  as  copastor  with  Dr.  Rodgers 
over  the  united  churches. 

About  this  period  the  trustees  purchased  a  lot  on 
Nassau  street,  joining  the  one  occupied  by  the  Wall 
Street  Church.  Here  they  erected  a  building  for  a 
"Charity  School,"  under  care  of  the  session  and  trus- 
tees of  the  Church.  Its  funds  j)artly  consisted  of  lega- 
cies left  for  this  pious  object,  as  well  as  from  voluntary 
subscriptions.  It  went  into  operation  in  1799,  and  an 
annual  collection  was  also  taken  for  its  benefit  in  both 
churches.  This  institution  continued  in  useful  opera 
tion  until,  with  similar  schools  of  other  denominations, 
it  was  placed  under  tli(3  care  of  our  Public  School 
Society.     So  parochial  schools  cannot  claim  to  be  a 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  149 

modern  institution.  We  tliink  they  slionld  be  annexed 
to  every  evangelical  churcli.  Relinquishing  their  funds 
to  the  public  schools  of  the  city,  it  was  exjoressly  and 
wisely  stipulated,  by  the  trustees,  that  no  child  whom 
they  recommended  should  be  excluded,  and  that  the 
Bible  should  also  be  daily  read  in  the  schools.  Prudent 
and  pious  forethought ! 

On  the  fifth  of  June,  1789,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Miller 
was  ordained,  and  called  to  assist  Drs.  Rodgers  and 
McKnight. 

In  the  year  1798,  a  third  Presbyterian  Church  was 
opened  on  Rutgers  street.  It  was  a  spacious  frame 
building.  Its  ground  was  the  generous  gift  of  Colonel 
Henry  Rutgers,  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  and  one  of  the  most  honored,  liberal,  and 
excellent  men  of  that  day.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Milledoler 
became  its  first  minister,  with  the  understanding  that 
his  labors  be  confined  to  that  charge.  During  1807,  a 
colony  from  the  Wall  Street  and  Brick  Churches  founded 
the  "Cedar  Street"  Church,  as  no  pews  could  now  be 
obtained  in  either  of  the  others,  from  their  crowded 
congregations.  Dr.  Rodgers  laid  the  corner-stones  and 
delivered  the  opening  sermons  in  both  of  these  new 
liouses  of  worship. 

!Mucli  inconvenience  attended  the  arrangement  of  this 
collegiate  charge  ;  and  in  the  year  1809  the  two  congre- 
gations, till  then  united,  amicably  became  distinct  and 
separate  churches.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers  retained  his 
connection  with  both,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  remaining  in 
Wall  street ;  Dr.  McKnight  voluntarily  continued  his 
connection  with  both. 


160  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

During  tliis  and  tlie  following  year  the  cliurcli  on 
Wall  street  was  rebuilt ;  in  tlie  interim,  from  December 
9,  1809,  to  August  11,  1811,  tlie  congregation  continued 
their  religious  services  in  the  old  French  Protestant,  or 
Huguenot  Church,  Pine  street.  The  new  house  of  the 
Lord  was  a  costl}^,  noble,  and  large  brown  stone  edifice, 
and  furnished  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  its 
members.  Dr.  Rodgers  closed  his  useful  and  pious 
labors  for  the  church  militant  in  the  month  of  Ma}',  1811, 
leaving  Dr.  Miller  the  sole  pastor.  He  was  an  eminent 
and  honored  servant  of  the  Lord,  and  his  colleague.  Dr. 
Miller,  has  written  his  life — a  biography  worthy  a  j)lace 
in  every  Christian's  library.  In  the  year  1813,  Dr. 
Miller  removed  to  Princeton,  for  more  extensive  useful- 
ness as  a  professor  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  all 
know  how  highly  he  became  respected  by  the  Christian 
community  at  large. 

During  1815,  the  Rev.  Philip  Melaucthon  Whelpley 
accepted  a  call  to  the  Wall  Street  Church.  An  eminent 
writer,  an  able  divine,  his  course  of  duty  was  brief,  rest- 
ing from  his  holy  work  July  17,  1824,  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty  years.  Then,  for  a  year,  the  church  had  no  pastor, 
Avhen  the  Rev.  Dr.  AVilliam  W.  Phillips,  minister  of  the 
"Pearl  Street  Church,"  received  the  charge  of  the  Wall 
street  congregation,  January  19, 1826,  This  sacred  edi- 
fice was  jiartially  destroyed  by  fire  in  1810,  but  immedi- 
ately rebuilt,  the  congregation,  in  the  mean  while,  occupy- 
ing the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  Chambers  street. 
During  Uiv  month  of  May,  1842,  this  new  beautiful  temple 
Avas  vacated,  by  the  congregation,  sold  for  tliree  thou- 
sand dollars,  and,  stone  by  stone,  removed  to  Jersey 


EARLIEST   CHUTiCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK,  151 

City,  where  it  is  still  used  for  God's  holy  service  as  a 
Presbyterian  church.  Those  who  love  the  awakened, 
pious  associations  of  former  days,  and  to  cherish  them, 
may  visit  this  hallowed  spot,  and,  delighted,  walk  about 
Zion. 

Among  our  remarks,  mention  has  been  made  that  many 
have  fallen  asleep  in  Christ,  members  of  the  Old  Brick 
Church  congregation — and  among  them  John  Adams,  Mr. 
Lockwood,  Peter  Hawes,  Mr.  Cunningham,  Mr.  De  For- 
est, Mr.  Havens,  Messrs.  Halsey,  Mills,  Whitlock,  Prince, 
Bingham,  Bulkley,  Oakley,  Bokee,  McComb,  Brown, 
Langster,  Harding,  and  Phelps.  They  were  pillars  of 
the  church  militant,  and  their  record  is  on  high.  Time 
would  fail,  as  it  were,  to  state  the  whole  number ;  but 
let  us  dwell  a  moment  on  the  beloved  memory  of  Anson 
G.  Phelps,  who  early  joined  the  Brick  Church.  The 
writer  knew  him  intimately,  and  esteemed  hun  as  a 
model  Christian,  and  consequently  worthy  of  all  imita- 
tion. His  house  was  ever  open  to  Christian  ministers 
and  to  prayer,  and,  as  Mr.  Horace  Holden  once  remarked 
(who  has  since  joined  him  in  the  heavenly  land),  "His 
parlors  were  never  too  good  to  be  used  for  meetings 
of  praj^er."  He  was  unostentatious  amidst  his  great 
worldly  ]Di'Osperity,  and  the  means  which  many  of  us 
spend  in  extravagance,  pride,  and  vain  show,  he  devo- 
ted to  charity  and  Christian  benevolence— "not  slothful 
in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord,  distribu- 
ting to  the  necessity  of  saints,  given  to  hospitality." 
These  were  emphatically  his  noble  traits,  A  more  lib- 
eral Christian  we  never  knew,  and  ' '  the  first  twenty-live 
dollars  he  was  ever  master  of,  all  he  was  worth,  indeed, 


152  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK 

save  a  few  pennies,"  he  contributed  towards  the  educa- 
tion of  a  young  man  in  his  native  vilhige,  Simsbury, 
Connecticut,  for  the  ministry,  and  who  had  been  a  well- 
known  Universalist.  Benevolence  and  liberality  formed 
an  essential  part  in  his  religious  character.  He  was 
among  the  few  men  of  large  property  who  may  be 
called  their  own  executors — living  givers.  His  last 
will  contained  magnificent  bequests,  and  among  them 
the  noble  suras  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  each  to 
the  African  Colonization  and  Bible  causes — favorite  ones 
in  life  and  death  !  In  these  great  charities  we  often  met. 
We  visited  the  dying  chamber  of  our  depai'ted  friend, 
and  found  him 

"Strong  in  the  strength  that  God  supplies, 
And  His  eternal  Son." 

His  only  regret  expressed  was  that  lie  had  done  no  more 
to  promote  the  cause  of  Christ.  He  was  resigned  and 
hapj)y,  loving  the  "Songs  of  Zion''  to  the  last,  especially 
those  animating  lines  which  have  cheered  so  many  pil- 
grims crossing  over  the  narrow  Jordan  of  death  : 

"  There  is  a  fountain  lilled  with  blood." 

He  could  sing  them  with  trembling  voice  and  streaming, 
joyful  tears.  Just  before  his  departure,  one  of  his  be- 
loved children  said  to  him  :  "  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare 
a  place  for  us— a  place  for  you,  dear  father  ;"  and,  with 
strong  emphasis,  he  replied:  ''I  believe  it.  I  believe 
it."  Thus,  leaning  upon  the  world's  Redeemer,  one  of 
the  most  eminent,  liberal,  and  pious  members  of  the  "Old 
Brick  Church"  entered  into  the  everlasting  rewards 
promised  to  the  faithfal. 


EAKLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  153 

The  Brick  Clmrcli  lias  taken  a  prominent  part  in  all  tlie 
great  and  benevolent  enterprises  for  wkicli  our  age  is  so 
much  distinguished.  ISo  religious  society  in  the  land, 
probably,  has  given  more  generously  to  foreign  and 
domestic  missions,  with  greater  liberality  in  the  impor- 
tant duty  of  educating  poor  and  indigent  young  men  for 
the  Gospel  ministrj^  Princeton,  Elizabethtown,  New 
York,  Boston,  the  West,  &c.,  have  eminent  ministers, 
once  the  beneliciaries  of  this  church. 

"What  tears  of  repentance,  what  songs  of  triumphant 
believers,  have  mingled  in  this  time-honored,  holy 
sanctuary  of  the  Most  High  !  Children  and  children' s 
children,  for  several  generations,  have  been  baptized  by 
its  holy  ministers,  and  multitudes  laid  in  the  silent 
grave,  who  have  sweetly  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  !  Thou- 
sands could  sins; — 

"  Here  my  kind  friends,  my  kindred,  dwell ; 
Here  God,  my  Saviour,  reij^ns." 

Tlie  vine,  planted  so  many  years  before  in  the  Old 
Brick  Church,  and  so  long  watered  with  the  early  and 
the  latter  rains  and  the  dews  of  heaven,  was  now  trans- 
planted, as  it  were,  to  a  new  spot  for  far  more  abundant 
fruit.  This  people  had  very  long  been  blessed  with  a 
succession  of  pious,  able,  and  faithful  ministers  of  salva- 
tion, and  that  same  pure  and  blessed  Gosi^el  of  Christ 
is  still  declared  in  the  new  church,  to  the  comfort  of 
believers  aud  the  preparation  of  immortal  souls  for 
heaven.  May  the  successors  of  the  Old  Brick  Church 
ever  walk  worthy  of  their  high  vocation,  and  transmit 
the  true  faith,  with  the  form  of  sound  words,  to  their 


154  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

successors,  as  tliey  received  them,  uncorrupted,  from 
their  pious  fathers. 

Many  of  the  sacramental  host  "have  crossed  the 
flood"  from  the  original  communicants  of  the  "Old 
Brick  Church,"  and  Horace  Holden  is  now  among  tliis 
number.  When  he  went  to  his  heavenly  crown,  the 
congregation  mourned  the  loss  of  a  most  exemplary, 
useful,  and  pious  member.  His  venerable  pastor,  who 
had  loved  him  so  long  and  so  well,  selected  for  the 
funeral  sermon,  John  xi,  35:  "Jesus  wept;"  and  the 
preacher  beautifull}'^  said  : . "  We  inust  expect  to  weep. 
And  we  may  weep.  .  .  .  Yes,  ye  sons  and  daughters  of 
affliction,  ye  may  weep.  In  a  world  where  sin  has  dug 
the  grave  of  all  that  is  lovely  and  beloved,  you  may 
not  look  for  attachments  that  never  die.  In  some  views, 
the  death  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Holden  is  most  undesira- 
ble and  afflictive  ;  in  others,  it  is  an  event  of  the  most 
joyous  kind.  He  is  safe  ;  he  is  holy ;  he  is  happy.  He 
shall  hu.nger  no  more,  nor  thirst  any  more  ;  nor  suffer, 
nor  sigh  anymore."  "God  shall  wipe  awiiy  all  tears 
from  their  eyes." 

Mr.  Holden  was  born  at  Sudbury,  Massachusetts, 
November  5,  1793.  Coming  to  Ncav  York  (1809),  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  Mr.  Ezra  Bliss,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1811,  and,  during  the  war  of  1812,  sta- 
tioned at  Sandy  Hook,  became  attached  to  the  staff  of 
General  Colfax.  At  first,  lie  attended  the  ministry  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  but  became  a  member  of  the  Brick 
Church,  July,  1820.  In  the  year  1823  he  was  ordained 
one  of  its  ruling  elders,  and  his  pastor  has  declared, 
"No  man  was  more  punctual,  more  prompt,  or  more  dili- 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES  IN   NEW  YORK.  155 

gent  in  liis  high  vocation."  Girt  with  spiritual  armor, 
Horace  Holden  was  always  in  the  place  where  duty 
called  him.  His  religion  had  a  cheerful  character.  It 
had  a  charm  for  him.  How  many  remember  his  j)rayers, 
and  those  cheering  words  of  his  :  "  O  never  let  us  leave 
thy  side,  nor  let  go  the  hand  that  guides  us  !" 

Mr.  Holden  was  known  among  us  as  a  safe,  wise  coun- 
sellor, and  an  earnest,  faithful,  able  member  of  the  bar. 
We  will  add,  he  was  a  Cliristian  lawyer,  never  advising 
or  defending  that  which  an  honest  man  and  a  Cliristian 
could  not  maintain  and  justify.  His  last  illness  was 
painful,  from  inflammation  of  the  brain,  but  he  knew 
his  old,  beloved  minister,  saying  : 

"  It  is  Dr.  Spring,  my  dear  pastor  !" 

"  Are  you  going  to  leave  us  ?  Are  you  going  home  V 
asked  the  Doctor. 

With  emphasis,  the  dying  man  replied:  "Yes,  I 
believe  I  am  ;  I  am  going  home." 

As  his  last  hour  drew  near,  he  repeated  those  beauti- 
ful lines  of  Dr.  Watts : 

"  A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall;" 

when,  his  voice  failing,  he  said  to  his  weeping  wife  and 
daughter,  "Finish" — and  they  added  : 

"  Be  Thou  Ely  strength  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus  and  my  all." 

Shortly  after,  the  conflict  was  over,  "the  last  enemy" 
conquered,  and  he  was  singing  the  "everlasting  song!" 

We  might  mention  here,  too,  the  many  beautiful  testi- 
monials of  sympathy  ofiered  to  his  afflicted  family  and 
friends.     They  came  from  the  Bible,  and  Tract,  and  Sun- 


156  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

(lay  Sc'liool  Societies,  &c.,  for  all  of  wliicli  lie  was  an 
active  laborer  ;  l3nt  we  need  not  name  them,  as  his  fame 
was  in  all  the  churches. 

On  the  25th  day  of  May,  1856,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Spring 
delivered  a  discourse,  "The  Memorial  of  God's  Good- 
ness," as  the  closing  sermon  in  the  Old  Brick  Church. 
He  selected  for  his  text  Psalm  xlviii.  9-14  :  "We  have 
thought  of  thy  loving  kindness,  0  God,  in  the  midst  of 
thy  temple.  That  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generations  fol- 
lowing :  for  this  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever ;  he 
will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death." 

The  religious  services  on  this  occasion  closed  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  God  in  a  sacred  temple  where  it  had  been 
continued  and  enjoyed  for  eighty-eight  years.  A  sketch 
was  given  of  the  Brick  Church  from  its  origin,  and  the 
I)reacher  said:  "Of  God's  goodness  towards  myself  I 
might  write  volumes  without  exhausting  the  theme.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  coincidence  v/hich  an  old  man  may  be  pardoned 
for  taking  notice  of,  that  this  day,  on  which  we  now 
meet,  completes  the  fiftieth  year  of  our  married  life.  It 
was  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  1806,  the  Lord's  day, 
that  Ave  were  united  in  bonds  not  to  be  severed  but  by 
death.  This  twenty-fifth  of  May,  1856,  also  the  Lord's 
day,  celebrates  our  'golden  wedding.'  ....  Thirteen  of 
our  children  were  born  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  bap- 
tized in  this  house  of  God.  Six  of  the  fifteen  have  died 
since  our  connection  with  jon,  and  you  have  sympa- 
thized with  our  trials  and  liberally  provided  for  our 
wants.  .  .  .  Your  unc^xpected  bounty  to  us,  two  years 
ago,  when  I  was  thousaiids  of  miles  from  3''ou,  and  knew 
not  of  the  generous  arrangement  so  nobly  made  in  order 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IX   NEW   YORK.  157 

to  relieve  the  solicitude  of  the  evening  of  onr  days, 
demands  this  grateful  and  jDublic  acknowledgment. ' ' 

This  Avas  a  munificent  benefaction  of  five  thousand 
dollars  a  year  salary  from  the  congregation  to  theii' 
faithful  pastor,  and  communicated  to  him  by  letter 
of  June  13,  1854,  and  signed  by  a  committee  of  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  :  Horace  Holden,  Samuel  Marsh,  Mo- 
ses Allen,  Ira  Bliss,  and  Guy  Richards,— some  of  whom, 
to  use  their  own  language,  ' '  have  sat  under  your  minis- 
try ibr  more  than  forty  years,  and  during  that  long  pe- 
riod can  bear  testimony  to  your  untiring  industry,  your 
unbending  integrity  in  the  exhibition  of  Gospel  truth 
amid  conflicts  and  parties,  and  your  entire  devotion  to 
the  apx^ropriato  duties  of  the  ministry." 

In  the  most  tender  and  pathetic  manner,  the  venerable 
preacher  closed  his  discourse,  and  among  his  last  words 
on  this  occasion  were  :  "  Farewell,  then,  thou  endeared 
house  of  God  !  thou  companion  and  friend  of  my  youth, 
thou  comforter  of  my  later  years,  thou  scene  of  trial  and 
of  repose,  of  aj)prehension  and  of  hope,  of  sorrow  and 
of  joy,  of  man' s  infirmity  and  of  God' s  omnipotent  grace, 
farewell !  Sweet  pulpit,  farewell !  Blessed  altar,  fare- 
well !  Tlirone  of  grace,  as  here  erected,  and  where  God 
no  longer  records  his  name,  farewell !" 

Dr.  Spring  made  a  proposition  to  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York  that  his  congregation  would  subscribe  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  j)i'Ovided  the  other  churches  would 
raise  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  to  purchase  the 
"  Old  Brick,"  and  let  it  remain  for  the  use  of  strangers 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  This  liberal  offer,  how- 
ever, did  not  succeed.     The  old  church  was  taken  down 


158  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

and  its  dead  removed,  and  a  magnificent  stone  edifice, 
devoted  to  business  purposes,  now  occupies  tlie  memo- 
rable spot.  Here  our  excellent  Ohserter,  with  several 
other  papers  and  periodicals,  are  published,  where  the 
Gospel  so  long  sounded. 

On  the  31st  of  October,  1858,  Dr.  Spring  delivered  the 
dedicatory  sermon  of  the  New  Brick  Church,  on  Murray 
Hill,  Fifth  Avenue.  His  theme  was  the  Sanctuary,  and 
the  text,  "Ye  shall  reverence  my  sanctuary." — Leviticus 
xix.  30.  This  was  an  auspicious  daj^  with  the  congregation 
— the  removal  of  a  church  hallowed  by  such  affecting  asso- 
ciations as  concentrated  around  the  spot  of  their  fathers' 
prayers  and  graves.  After  an  absence  of  two  years  and 
a  half,  they  assembled  in  this  new  and  beautiful  court 
of  the  Lord,  and  could  joyfully  exclaim  :  "Having  ob- 
tained help  of  God,  we  continue  to  the  j)resent  day." 
The  edifice  is  large,  costly,  and  noble,  and  was  solemnly 
dedicated  to  Him  to  whose  name  and  worship,  we  trust, 
it  will  ever  be  devoted.  It  cannot  be  styled  a  gorgeous 
edifice,  and  has  no  decorated  Avails  or  splendid  magnifi- 
cence. ' '  Strength  and  beauty' '  unite  in  this  ' '  sanctuary. ' ' 
Sacred  place  !  And  here  was  the  baimer  of  salvation 
again  set  up  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Dr.  Sj)ring  delivered  another  suitable  sermon,  "Re- 
demption God's  greatest  work,"  on  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versarj^  of  his  ordination  and  installation  as  pastor  of 
the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church.  This  was  his  text : 
"  That  I  may  plant  the  heavens  and  lay  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  and  say  unto  Zion,  Thou  art  my  peoj)le." 
— Isaiah  i.  IG.  Referring  to  himself  and  God's  good- 
ness, he  remarked  :  "  When  I  came  among  you  I  thought 


EARLIEST   CIIUKCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  lo9 

it  doubtful  if  I  should  remain  a  single  year  ;  but  He  has 
kept  me  here  fifty  years.  ...  I  can  scarcely  bring  my- 
self to  believe  that  the  present  discourse  is  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  service  I  have  been  permitted  to  enjoy 
among  this  people.'' 

IS'ot  long  after,  on  the  15^1  of  October,  1860,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  by  the  congregation,  "  to  present  a  memo- 
rial to  their  venerated  pastor  on  the  occasion  of  his 
settlement  over  them."     On  this  occasion  the  new  spa- 
cious edifice  was  crowded  ;   Horace  Holden  occupied 
the  chair,  and  Augustus  AVhitlock,  with  George  De 
Forest  Lord,  Avere  appointed  Secretaries.     The  Rev.  Dr. 
Phillips  offered  prayer,  and  very  impressive  addresses 
were  made  by  Mr.  Holden,  Daniel  Lord,  and  Mr.  Corn- 
ing.     The  Eev.   Dr.   Krebs  read  an  address  from  the 
Presbytery  of  IS^ew  York,  which  was  signed,  on  behalf 
of  that  body,   by  John  M.  Ki-ebs,  W.  W.  Phillips,  R. 
McCartee,  Ebenezer  Piatt,  and  Mr.  Wm.  Walker.     The 
Rev.    Samuel   Spring,    D.  D.,   of  Hartford,   a  beloved 
brother  of  the  Doctor,  sent  an  address,  which  was  also 
read  by  Gardiner  Spring,  Jr.,   on  behalf  of  his  uncle. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  of  Boundbrook,  K".  J.,  a  grand- 
son of  the  earliest  pastor  of  the  church,  also  addressed 
the  meeting,  together  with  Dr.  Humphrey,  Dr.  Murray, 
John  G.  Adams,  M.  D.,  and  Dr.  Hoge.     All  their  re- 
marks exhibited  great  respect  and  affection  to  Dr.  Spring 
for  his  long-continued,  successful  labors  in  the  church, 
with  ardent  wishes  and  fervent  prayers  that  God  would 
continue  to  bless  his  ministerial  efforts. 


IGO  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

CEUAH     STREET      CHURCH      FOUNDED— DR.      ROMEYN     CALLED CHURCH 

REMOVED     TO     DUANE     STREET REV.    DR.    POTTS ASSOCIATIONS    OF 

CEDAR      STREET       CHURCH OLD      MEMBERS TVILLIAM      HALL,      OF 

CLEVELAND,  THE  ONLY  SURVIVING  MEMBER  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  SUB- 
SCRIBERS TO  THE  CHURCH PELETIAH  PERIT DR.  J.  AV.  ALEXAN- 
DER   INSTALLED THE    NEW    CHURCH    ON    THE    FIFTH    AVENUE. 

A  coLOisrY  from  the  Wall  Street  and  Biick  Presbyterian 
Cliurclies,  in  1807,  founded  the  Cedar  Street  Church,  Dr. 
Rodgers  laying  the  corner-stone ;  and  he  delivered  the 
ox3ening  sermon.  A  subscription  towards  the  new  un- 
dertaking had  been  commenced  in  sums  from  one  hun- 
dred to  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  soon  amounted  to 
forty  thousand,  with  which  the  lots  were  purchased 
and  the  edifice  erected.  It  was  deemed  expedient  to 
organize  this  congregation  independent  of  the  three 
other  Collegiate  Presbyterian  Churches  then  in  New 
York.  Tlie  movement  was,  in  fact,  one  of  New  Eng- 
land m(^n.  Elisha  Coit  and  Selah  Strong  were  the  com- 
mittee, Avith  the  call  for  Dr.  Romejm  to  take  cliarge  of 
the  newly  formed  Church.  Mr.  Jolm  Stoutenberg  also 
carried  an  invitation  to  the  same  gentleman,  for  him  to 
accept  the  pulpits  of  the  Reformed  Collegiate  Dutch 
Cliurches ;  but  Dr.  Romeyn  accej^ted  the  Presbyterian. 
On  the  eightli  of  November,  1808,  the  congregation  was 
organized,  with  twenty-eight  members ;  and  on  the  same 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  161 

day  the  Rev.  John  B.  Roraeyn,  D.  T>.,  was  installed  its 
pastor.  A  large  society  soon  collected,  and  he  contin- 
ued his  labors  until  his  death,  February  22,  1825,  in  the 
forty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

After  some  two  years'  vacancy,  during  which  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Payson  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  were  called,  but 
declining,  the  Rev.  Cj^rus  Mason  was  ordained  pastor,  in 
December,  1826.  Resigning  his  charge,  in  1835  he  be- 
came a  professor  or  the  principal  of  the  Grammar  School 
in  the  N^ew  York  University. 

During  his  ministry  this  congregation  removed  its 
place  of  worship  to  the  new,  elegant  marble  church  on 
Dnane  street.  The  old  lots  were  sold  for  seventy -five 
thousand  dollars,  in  1834,  the  congregation  worshipj^ing 
in  the  lecture-room  of  the  Brick  Church  until  their  new 
edifice  was  finished,  in  1835,  This  cost  about  forty  thou- 
sand dollars,  without  the  lot ;  and  here  the  congregation 
removed  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  new  year,  1836, 
assuming  the  name  of  the  "Duane  Street  Church." 
During  the  ensuing  month  of  May,  the  Rev.  George 
Potts  became  its  pastor. 

There  are  many  delightful  associations  connected  with 
the  "Old  Cedar  Street  Church."  Perhaps  no  congre- 
gation in  the  city  contained  more  useful  and  zealous 
members.  Zechariah  Lewis,  so  long  connected  with  the 
Commercial  Advertiser,  and  William  Cleveland,  were  its 
first  ruling  elders  ;  and  later,  Elisha  Coit,  William  Hall, 

Solomon  Williams, Wilson,  with  Rufus  Nevins, 

were  deacons.  We  find,  also,  the  names  of  Jonathan 
Little,  Ives,  Fitch,  J.  E.  Caldwell,  and  Divie  Bethune, 
Markoe,  Masters,  Hugli  Auchincloss,  and  Cyrenius  Beers, 
11 


162  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

among  tlie  elders.    Few  churches  exhibited  so  nuuiy  ven- 
erable faces  in  its  aisles  and  pews  as  Old  Cedar  Street 
presented.     General  Ebenezer  Stevens,  with  a  family  of 
six  sons.  Colonel  Loomis,  Colonel  Yarick,  Archibald  Gra- 
de, Mr.  Walcott,  afterwards  the  governor  of  Connecticut, 
Benjamin  Strong,  Amasa  Jackson,  James  and  William 
Lovett,  William  Codman,  Darling,  Irvings,  Griswolds, 
Kobert  Ilalliday,  Stephen  Whitney,  John  B.  Murray, 
William  Halsted,  Hubbard,  Gordon  Buck,  Levi  Coit, 
that  most  excellent  and  useful  citizen,  Mr.  Aspinwall,  &c. 
There  was  quite  a  party  for  calling  Mr.  Holley,  after- 
wards a  distinguished  preacher  among  the  Unitarians. 
Dr.  Romiyn  manifested  a  great  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  children,  and  secured  their  affection  by  his 
familiar  manner  of  calling  them  all  by  name.     His  cate- 
chetical exercises  were  esteemed  among  his  most  useful, 
often  nearly  two  hundred  attending  the  classes,  from 
live  and   six  years   of  age  to   eighteen.      In  hearing 
the  recitations,  he  would  be  assisted  by  the  elders, 
then  adding  such  explanations  and  remarks  as  were 
profitable  to  all.     Dr.  Eomeyn's  ministry  was  owned 
and  blessed  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  many 
heads  of  families  among  our  prominent  citizens  professed 
faith  in  Christ  during  his  Christian  labors.     For  a  long 
time,  from  twelve  to  sixteen  persons  were  added  to  the 
congregation  every  communion  day.     Many  came  by 
letters  from  other  churches;   and  among  such  the  ex- 
cellent and  pious  Mrs.  Isabella  Graham,  Divie  Bethune 
and  wife,  and  Colonel  Richard  Yarick,  &c.    Of  the  sixty- 
seven  persons  who  united  originally  in  the  subscriptions 
for  building  the  Cedar  Stix'ct  Church,  only  one  is  known 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  163 

to  be  living.  This  is  the  esteemed  and  venerable  Wil- 
liam Hall,  now  in  his  eightieth  year,  and  residing  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  has  been  greatly  blessed  in  his 
earthly  pilgrimage,  having  two  sons  in  the  sacred  office, 
and  one  daughter  the  wife  of  a  minister.  Of  the  twenty- 
eight  who  founded  this  church,  only  two  were  living  a 
few  months  ago— Peletiah  Perit  and  INIr.  Hall ;  but  the 
former,  that  excellent  citizen  and  faithful  Christian,  has 
recently  gone  to  his  heavenly  mansion  and  rewards, 
and  the  venerable  Mr.  Hall  alone  is  left.  In  speaking 
of  .this  fact  himself,  he  says:  "Our  fathers,  where  are 
they  ?  and  the  prophets,  do  they  live  forever?" 

Mr.  Potts  was  succeeded  in  Duane  street  by  the  Rev. 
James  W.  Alexander,  D.  D.,  installed  October,  1844,  the 
members  soon  numbering  four  hundred.  This  church 
was  also  taken  down.  Splendid  marble  stores  now 
occupy  the  spot ;  and  the  congregation  removed  to  their 
noble  and  beautiful  new  edifice  on  the  corner  of  Fifth 
Avenue  and  Nineteenth  street.  Here  Dr.  Alexander 
continued  his  Gospel  labors  until  released  from  them  to 
obtain  the  promises  of  the  heavenly  world.  Precious 
is  his  memory,  yea,  more  precious  than  gold,  and  dear 
as  raptured  thrills  of  joy ! 


164  EAELIEST  CHURCHES  IN  NEW  YOEK. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

SCOTCH    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    BUILT REV.    JOHN    MASON HIS    SON, 

JOHN    M.    MASON,    D.  D.,    SUCCEEDS    HIM — THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARIES 

ESTABLISHED — DR.    MASON    IN    THE    PULPIT    AND    AS    A    WRITER HIS 

WORK    ON    "  CATHOLIC    COMMUNION" PRESIDENT    OF  CARLISLE  COL- 
LEGE  REV.    MESSRS.    SNODGRASS     AND     McAULEY     SUCCEED     HIM    IN 

THE    MURRAY    STREET    CHURCH CHURCH    SOLD    AND    CONGREGATION 

REMOVE     TO     ASTOR    PLACE ASSOCIATE     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

EARLIEST     CHURCHES FOREIGN     HISTORY REV.     JAMES      PROUDFIT 

ARRIVES    IN    THIS     COUNTRY,    WITH     OTHER    MINISTERS NEW    UNION 

FORMED,    AND    ITS    LEADERS     REV.    THOMAS    CLARK,    ROBERT     ANNAN, 

DR.    ALEXANDER    PROUDFIT SETTLEMENT    OF    IRISH    PRESBYTERIANS 

IN    ORANGE    COUNTY,    NEW    YORK,    UNDER    AUSPICES     OF    COL.    CLIN- 
TON  ANOTHER    IN    WASHINGTON    COUNTY. 

In  the  year  1768,  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church," 
a  line  stone  substantial  liouse  of  worship,  sixty-five  by 
fifty-four  feet,  was  erected  on  Cedar  street  near  Broad- 
way. In  June,  1761,  the  Rev.  Jolm  Mason,  of  Scotland, 
arrived  in  New  York,  and  now  became  its  pastor,  and 
his  influence  greatly  promoted  the  union  between  the 
Associate  and  Reformed  Churches.  After  the  union, 
this  congregation  became  "  The  First  Associate  Reformed 
Cliurch  in  New  York." 

Dr.  John  Mason  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
preachers  and  i)astors  of  his  day.  His  scholarship  was 
rare — at  the  early  ago  of  twenty  speaking  the  Latin  lan- 
guage, on  all  the  higher  subjects  of  science,  with  as  much 
ease  as  his  mother  tongue  ;  and  he  was  equally  familiar 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN  FEW   YORK.  165 

with  the  Hebrew.  His  lectures  were  in  Latin,  and  at 
the  age  of  t\yenty-fonr  he  taught  logic  and  moral  phi- 
losox)hy  in  the  Seminary  at  Abernethy.  As  a  preacher, 
he  was  very  diligent  and  instructive,  and  few  ministers 
ever  lived  in  New  York  more  esteemed,  and,  when 
dying,  so  generally  lamented. 

In  connection  with  Governor  Livingston,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, Dr.  Mason  wrote,  it  is  thought,  some  powerful  po- 
litical papers  before  the  Revolution,  and  was  banished 
from  the  city.  For  thirty  years  he  ministered  in  this  old 
Scot' s  church,  and  died  in  the  year  1792. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  John  Mason,  his  son,  John  M., 
then  studying  theology  at  Edinburgh,  was  invited  to 
succeed  his  father  in  the  pulpit,  and  he  accepted.  Re- 
signing the  pastorship  of  the  Scotch  Cedar  Street  Church 
in  1810,  witli  some  of  its  members,  a  new  congregation 
was  organized,  and,  in  1812,  they  completed  the  elegant 
stone  edifice  on  Murray  street,  then  opposite  Columbia 
College.  Here  Dr.  Mason  continued  to  ofliciate  until 
elected  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  college  at  Car- 
lisle. 

Li  the  year  1800  it  was  resolved  to  establish  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  as  the  only  means  to  supply  the  in- 
creasing demand  for  ministers  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
Church.  Dr.  Mason  was  sent  to  England,  in  1802,  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  funds  towards  the  object,  and 
secured  six  thousand  dollars,  the  greatest  part  of  which 
was  expended  for  the  purchase  of  a  valuable  library. 
Five  Scottish  ministers  returned  with  him  to  the  United 
States.  During  the  fall  of  1804,  the  seminary  com- 
menced its  sessions  at  New  York,  and  was  the  first  of 


166  EARLIEST   CHURCHES  IN   NEW   YORK. 

the  kind  established  in  the  United  States.  For  many 
years  it  was  our  most  famous  theological  school.  The 
honor  of  its  origin  and  admirable  plan  of  study  belong 
to  Dr.  iNIason.  At  this  period,  the  Doctor  also  had 
some  connection  with  old  and  honored  Columbia  College, 
lecturing  to  the  Senior  Class  on  Greek  and  Latin  criti- 
cism. Many  graduates  remember  these  rich,  eloquent, 
and  learned  dissertations. 

We  must  also  speak  of  his  unrivalled  pulpit  elo- 
quence and  immense  popularity.  He  was  one  of  the 
very  few  American  preachers  whose  fame  was  as  great 
in  England  as  in  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Mason's  writings  rank  high  in  our  theological 
literature.  His  earliest  work  was  upon  Frequent  Com- 
munion. For  many  years  the  Scottish  churches  had 
been  accustomed  to  celebrate  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord' s 
Supper  not  more  than  twice  a  year,  and  sometimes  only 
once.  Besides  the  usual  preparation  sermon,  the  sacra- 
mental Sabbath  invariably  was  preceded  by  a  fast  on 
the  previous  Thursday,  and  succeeded  by  a  thanks- 
giving day  upon  the  following  Monday.  This,  the  Doc- 
tor believed,  was  palpably  opposed  to  the  sjDirifc  of  the 
"  Directory,"  which  declares  that  "  the  Lord's  Supper  is 
frequently  to  be  observed."  Some,  however,  had  be- 
come so  wedded  to  the  set  "days,"  as  to  imagine  that 
it  was  almost  a  profanation  to  celebrate  the  solemn  ordi- 
nance without  tliem.  These  additions  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament Passover  Dr.  Mason  opposed,  and  his  "  Letters" 
to  the  "  Associate  Reformed  Church"  i^roduced  the  de- 
sired change  in  many  congregations. 

His  great  work,  however,  is  a  masterly  treatise  on 


EAKLIEST  CIITTRCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  1G7 

"  Catholic  Communion,"  publislied  in  1816.     Previous 
to  its  appearance,  tlie  Associate  Reformed  congregations, 
in  common  witli  other  branches  of  the  Scottish  Church 
in  our  hmd,  had  been  exclusive  in  their  commAinion. 
Strange  illustration  how  an  orthodox  Church  may  plainly 
contradict  lier  own  standards  of  faith  !     In  the  days  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly  exclusive  communion  was 
condemned,  whilst  the  Confession  of  the  Scottish  Church 
declares,  in  the  plainest  terms,  the  duty  of  communion 
with  all,  in  every  place,  who  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.     At  an  early  period,  however,  of  the 
Scottish  secession,  a  spirit  of  sectarian   exclusiveness 
manifested  itself  in  new  terms  of  communion.     These 
virtually  unchurched  all  other  Christian  denominations. 
The  Doctor's  great  aim  was  to  defend  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  on  this  subject,  and  to  bring  the  practice  of  the 
Church  into  harmony  with  her  own  authorized  stand- 
ards.    This  work  gave  great  offence  to  many,  who  could 
not  or  would  not  agree  with  the  author' s  views  ;  but  still 
it  produced  a  catholic  change  in  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's   Supper  in  a  considerable   portion   of  the 
Church  of  which  its  author  was  a  member. 

After  two  years'  residence  at  Carlisle  College,  Dr. 
Mason's  health  entirely  failing,  he  returned  to  New 
York,  where  he  finished  his  course  in  the  year  1829. 

The  Rev.  William  D.  Snodgrass  succeeded  Dr.  Mason 
in  the  Murray  Street  Church,  September  22,  1823,  re- 
maining pastor  until  September  22,  1832,  wlien  he 
removed  to  the  Second  Street  Church.  Troy.  Dr. 
Thomas  McAuley,  of  Philadelphia,  and  formerly  the 
pastor  iji  the  Rutgers  Street  Church,   succeeded  Dr. 


168  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK. 

Siiodgrass,  January  31,  1833.  This  sacred  edifice 
heavily  in  debt,  and  many  of  the  congregation  removed, 
after  eight  years'  ministerial  Labors  of  Dr.  McAuley, 
tliey  obtained  another  location.  The  property  had  be- 
come very  valuable,  and  was  sold.  Noble  stores  now 
occupy  the  once  sacred  spot.  A  commanding  site  was 
obtained  on  Eighth  street  at  Astor  Place,  and  the  old 
church,  taken  down,  was  removed,  and  here  rebuilt  in 
1842.  It  was  known  as  the  "  Eighth  Street,"  or  the 
Church  on  Astor  Place,  its  corporate  name,  however, 
remaining  the  ' '  Third  Associate  Reformed  Church. ' '  In 
November,  1845,  Dr.  McAuley  resigned  his  pastoral 
relations. 

We  find  no  very  authentic  accounts  of  the  earliest 
Scot' s  Presbyterian  Churches  in  this  couutr}^,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  once  in  South  Carolina.  There  is 
much  religious  romance  in  their  histoiy.  As  early  as 
the  year  1G80,  Lord  Cardon  commenced  a  colony  at  Port 
Royal,  as  a  refuge  to  his  persecuted  Presbyterian  breth- 
ren, and  their  minister  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dunlop,  after- 
wards the  Principal  of  the  University  of  Glasgow.  The 
Spanish  invasion,  with  the  English  Revolution  of  1G88, 
led  the  exiles  to  abandon  this  religious  settlement  and 
return  to  their  native  land.  Numbers  of  private  per- 
sons, however,  remaining  in  Carolina,  formed  congrega- 
tions under  a  presbytery,  which  exist(^d  until  the  close 
of  the  last  century.  Of  these  early  churches,  a  few  years 
ago  only  one  remained — the  "Old  Scot's  of  Charles- 
ton." 

During  1660  to  1688,  that  dark  period  of  Scottish  his- 
tory,  numbers  of   Presbyterians,   transported    to    the 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IT^   NEW   YORK,  169 

American  plantations,  were  sold  as  slaves.*  Yes  !  we 
have  had  on  our  continent  white  slaves  as  Avell  as  Iblack  ! 
Wodrow,  an  early  historian,  estimates  their  number  at 
three  thousand  ;  and  they  were  sent  mostly  to  Virginia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey.  To  a  congregation  of 
these  exiles  in  New  Jersey,  a  Reverend  Mr.  Frazer 
preached  for  some  years — then  removed  to  New  Eng- 
land—thence returned  to  Scotland.  As  the  history 
of  these  earliest  Scottish  Churches  is  connected  with 
that  of  the  American  Presbyterian,  it  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  the  accounts  of  them  are  so  exceedingly 
scanty. 

In  the  year  1736,  the  Associate  Presbytery  in  Scot- 
land received  a  letter  from  a  number  of  j)ersons  in  Lon- 
donderry, Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  soliciting  an 
ordained  minister  or  a  probationary,  and  promising  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  his  mission.  The  demand,  how- 
ever, for  laborers  at  home  was  so  great,  that  only  a 
friendly  letter  was  returned,  f  The  Rev.  Alexander 
Gellatly  was  the  first  minister  sent  to  America  by  the 
Secession  Church,  who  arrived  in  the  year  1751,  and, 
after  a  laborious  ministry  of  eight  years,  completed  his 
earthly  mission  at  Octorara,  Pennsylvania.  In  1751,  the 
Covenanters,  or  Reformed  Presbyterians,  commissioned 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Cutlibertson,  and  he  was  followed,  in 
1774,  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Lind  and^  Dobbin.  The  As- 
sociate Reformed  Churches  in  our  land  arising  from 
these  denominations  in  Scotland,  this  very  brief  notice 
of  them  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

*  Dr.  John  Forsyth,  in  Riipp^s  Religious  Denominations, 
f  McKenow's  Hist.  Secess..  i.  230. 


170  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

During  the  year  1751,  Messrs  James  Haines  and 
John  Jamieson  came  over,  as  Missionaries,  and  in  1752 
Messrs.  GeUatly  and  Arnot  arrived.  They  were  espe- 
cially charged,  by  the  Synod,  to  constitute  themselves 
into  a  Presbytery,  which  they  did,  under  the  name  of 
the  "Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania."  In  the 
year  1753,  the  Kev.  James  Proudfit  arrived,  and  after 
laboring  as  an  itinerant  for  some  years  he  settled  at 
Pequa,  Pennsylvania.  The  American  Presbytery  was 
strengthened  in  1 758  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Matthew 
Henderson,  and  in  1781,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Mason, 
Robert  Annan,  with  John  Smart ;  in  1762,  the  Rev. 
William  Marshall  arrived.  John  Roger  and  John 
Smith  came  over  in  1770.  During  that  year,  Thomas 
Clark,  with  most  of  his  congregation,  from  Ballybay, 
Ireland,  emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  the  town  of 
Salem,  Washington  County,  New  York.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Telfair  and  Kinloch,  the 
latter  becoming  the  minister  of  the  Burgher  Congrega- 
tions, Shipper  street,  Pliiladelphia :  Kinloch  ultimately 
returned  to  Scotland,  settling  at  Paisley. 

The  American  Revolution  aided  the  union  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Churches  in  America,  which  took 
place  in  October,  1782,  under  tlie  name  of  the  "Asso- 
ciate Reformed  Synod  of  Nortli  America."  Tliey  adopt- 
ed "  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  the  Catechism, 
the  Directory  for  Worship,  and  Propositions  Concern- 
ing Church  Government."  A  small  minority  declined 
to  enter  this  association,  and  from  it  have  sprung,  in 
our  land,  the  "Covenanter"  Church,  and  the  "Asso- 
ciate." 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  171 

Let  us  add  a  brief  notice  of  the  leaders  wlio  effected 
this  union.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Clark  was  one,  and  no 
minister  of  his  day,  it  is  said,  was  "in  labors  more  abun- 
dant." He  was  somewhat  eccentric,  and  usually  large 
crowds  went  to  hear  him.  But  he  was  eminently  given 
to  prayer,  laborious  and  zealous,  having  many  seals  to 
his  ministry.  Thus  making  full  proof  of  his  Gospel 
mission,  he  died  suddenly,  after  a  most  laborious  life  of 
thirty  years,  spent  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  at  Long 
Cane,  South  Carolina,  in  1796,  Mr,  Clark  was  the 
founder  and  the  first  minister  of  the  Church  at  Salem, 
New  York, 

We  have  spoken  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Mason,  another 
founder  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  in  a  previous 
chapter. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Annan  had  been  a  fellow- student 
with  Dr.  Mason,  and  coming  to  this  country  about  the 
same  period,  embraced  the  same  views  of  church  polity. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  American  Revolution,  he 
zealously  advocated  the  Whig  cause,  and  about  its  close 
took  charge  of  the  newly  formed  Scot's  Church,  Bos- 
ton. Unable  to  enforce  the  discipline  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  ministering 
to  the  Spruce  Street  Church.  Then  he  accepted  a  call 
from  a  congregation  in  Baltimore,  and,  after  six  years' 
services,  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  John  M.  Duncan. 

Mr.  Annan  was  a  man  of  eloquence,  an  able  and  se- 
vere controversialist.  He  wrote  a  short,  excellent  expo- 
sition of  the  Westminster  Confession — a  narrative  of  the 
ste-ps  which  led  to  the  Union — a  tract  on  Universalism, 
one  on  Civil  Government,  and  engaged  with  Dr.  Rush 


172  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

ill  a  discussion  on  capital  punishment.  Mr.  Annan  died 
in  the  year  1818. 

The  Rev.  James  Proudfit,  another  Unionist,  also  re- 
ceived liis  ministerial  education  at  Abernethy,  and  his 
first  settlement  was  at  Pequa,  Pennsylvania.  Here, 
laboring  upwards  of  twenty  years,  he  settled  at  Salem, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death,  in  1802.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Alexander  Proudfit  was  associated  with  him  in  the 
pastoral  charge  for  some  years  before  his  death.  Dr. 
Proudfit  was  one  of  the  earliest  Presbyterian  ministers 
settled  north  of  Troy,  and  abundant  in  labors  for  many 
years.  He  founded  many  congregations  about  Wash- 
ington County.  So  great  was  his  knowledge  of  the 
Bible,  as  often  to  be  called  the  Concordance.  Of  the 
other  Covenanting  Ministers,  Messrs.  Dobbin,  Lind,  and 
Cuthbertsou,  we  have  been  unable  to  obtain  any  authen- 
tic information. 

As  early  as  the  year  1734,  a  settlement  of  Irish  Pres- 
byterians was  made  in  Orange  County,  New  York, 
under  the  auspices  of  Colonel  Clinton,  the  founder  of 
the  Clinton  fiunil}^  Another  colony  went  to  Washing- 
ton County  with  Dr.  Clark,  about  1780,  and  from  these 
have  arisen  the  various  Associate  Churches  in  this  region. 

We  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Theological  ques- 
tions early  dividing  the  religious  denominations  of 
our  city,  but  briefly  to  notice  the  history  of  each.  The 
old  Associate  Church  in  New  York  commenced  about 
the  year  1751,  by  the  separation  of  the  Scottish  members 
from  the  Wall  Street,  in  consequence  of  changes  in  the 
forms  of   worship.""      There  arose  a  difference  about 

*  Dr.  Cleland  and  J.  P.  Miller. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  173 

psalmodj^,  those  dissenting  from  the  majority  quietly 
withdrawing  and  establishing  a  new  congregation  with 
the  name  of  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church,"  and 
placing  themselves  under  the  care  of  the  Associated 
Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania. 


174  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XAa. 

COLONEL      RUTGERS      PRESENTS     A     LOT     FOR     A     NEW     PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH DR.  MILLEDOLER  CALLED DRS.  McCLELLAN,  McAULEY,   AND 

KREBS     HIS     SUCCESSORS REFORMED     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH     OR- 
GANIZED  WILLIAM    OGNEK REV.   MR.   MoKINNEy's    ARRIVAL FIRST 

SACRAMENT ALEXANDER     McLEOD      INSTALLED HIS      SERMON     ON 

NEGRO     SLAVERY CHURCH     ERECTED     ON     CHAMBERS     STREET RE- 
BUILT, AND    THEN    REMOVED   TO   GREENWICH  VILLAGE DR.  McLEOd's 

LAST    PUBLIC    APPEARANCE    IN    THE    PULPIT HIS    LABORS LEADING 

MEMBERS      OF     HIS     CHURCH,     MESSRS.    AGNEW,    GIFFORD,     NELSON 

REV.    JOHN    N.    McLEOD     SUCCEEDS    HIS    FATHER CHURCH     REMOVED 

TO    PRINCE    STREET. 

New  York  now  extending  her  borders  towards  its 
eastern  section,  a  Presbyterian  church  was  wanted  there, 
when  Colonel  Rutgers  presented  a  lot  for  the  purpose,  on 
the  street  named  after  himself.  During  the  summer  of 
1797  the  desired  work  was  commenced,  and  the  spacious 
frame  building,  sixty-four  by  eighty-six  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, opened  for  the  Lord's  worship  May  13,  1798. 
Although  Wall,  the  Brick,  and  Rutgers  Churches  were 
now  a  collegiate  charge,  still  it  was  believed  that  soon 
each  of  them  would  stand  alone.  So,  when  the  Rev. 
Dr.  PhillixD  Milledoler  was  installed  a  colleague  with  Drs. 
Rodgers,  McKnight,  and  Miller,  in  November,  1805,  the 
Rutgers  street  congregation  Avas  given  to  his  more  par- 
ticular care.  AVhen  a  separation  of  these  churches 
should  take  place,  he  was  to  be  considered  its  sole  pas- 


EARLIEST  CIIUECIIES   IN  NEW   YOKE.  175 

tor.'^"    This  separation  was  made  in  April,  1809,  by  tlie 
presbytery.     The  venerable  Dr.  Eodgers,  now  bowed 
down  by  the  burden  of  many  years,  still  continued  his 
pastoral  duties,   both   to   the  Wall  Street  and  Brick 
Churches.     Dr.  McKnight  had  resigned  his  charge,  the 
presbytery  consenting.     Dr.  Miller  remained  the  colle- 
giate pastor  of  Wall  only,  and  Dr.  Milledoler  was  the 
only  minister  of  the  Rutgers  street  congregation.     Four 
years  afterwards  he  resigned  his  charge,  and  became 
co-pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Dutch  Reformed  Churches  in 
our  city,  and  subsequently  the  president  of  Rutgers  Col- 
lege.    The  Rutgers  Street  Church  remained  without  a 
regular  minister  until  October  17,  I8I0,  when  Alexander 
McClellan,  afterwards  Doctor,  was  ordained  and  installed 
its  pastor.     The  Doctor,  elected  a  professor  in  Dickinson 
College,  was  succeeded  in  Rutgers  street  by  Rev.  Thomas 
McAuly,  August,  1822,  and  he  was  followed  by  the  pres- 
ent well  known,  beloved,  able,  and  useful  Dr.  John  M. 
Krebs.    His  pious  labors  have  been  greatly  prospered  in 
that  portion  of  our  growing  city,  and  in  1841-2,  the  pres- 
ent large  stone  house  of  worsliip  was  erected  on  the  site 
of  the  old  oue.f    In  the  year  1790  the  Rev.  James  Reid 
visited  the  United  States,  on  a  mission  from  the  Reformed 
Presbytery  in  Scotland.     Reaching  New  York,  he  be- 
came the  guest  of  Mr.  John  Agnew,  whose  excellent  and 
pious  family  then  resided  at  Peck  Slip.     In  early  life 
this  gentleman  had  united  with  the  Reformed  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  Ireland,  and  now  joyfully  opened  his  doors 
to  the  preaching  of  the  new  missionary.     He  baptized 

*  Dr.  Miller. 

f  This  congregation  has  recently  removed  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 


176  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

two  children,  AYilliam  Agnew,  afterwards  a  ruling  elder 
in  tlie  clinrcli,  and  Mary  Ann,  then  five  months  old,  but 
subsequently  Mrs.  Dr.  McLeod,  the  wife  and  the  mother 
of  the  only  pastors  who  have  ever  labored  in  this  church 
of  wliich  we  are  now  writing.  Mr.  Agnew  died  in  1820, 
aged  sixty-eight,  both  parents  closing  lives  of  eminent 
Christian  consistency,  and  leaving  children  and  chil- 
dren's children  walking  in  the  truth.  "The  righteous 
shall  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance ;"  and  this  was 
the  commencement  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
in  New  York.  Mr.  James  Donaldson,  also  a  native  of 
Scotland,  united  with  the  pious  little  band.  Mr.  Reid, 
after  his  return  to  Scotland,  lived  to  nearl}^  eighty,  con- 
tinuing to  preach  even  after  afflicted  with  the  loss  of 
sight,  until,  full  of  years  and  blessings,  he  ended  a  well- 
spent  life.  Forty  years  after  he  left  New  York  the  late 
Dr.  McLeod  visited  him  in  Scotland. 

In  April,  1793,  the  Rev.  Mr.  McKinney  arrived  from 
Ireland — an  ardent  friend  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
His  preaching  attracted  much  attention,  when  Mr. 
Andrew  Gifford,  a  member  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 
Church  under  Dr.  John  Mason  s  charge,  cast  in  his  lot 
with  this  infant  society.  For  many  years  he  was  clerk 
of  the  session,  surviving  all  its  original  members. 

Soon  after  this,  Messrs.  Currie,  Smith,  Nelson,  and 
Clark,  landing  in  New  York,  all  members  of  the  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  Church,  acceded  to  this  society, 
when  the  regular  Church  session  commenced,  June, 
1708.  In  August  following,  for  the^r.9^^  time,  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  to  fifteen  or 
twenty  communicants,  in  a  school-room  in  Cedar  street 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  177 

— ^tlie  Revs.  Mr.  McKinncy  and  Gibson  the  officiating 
clergymen.  Among  tliose  present  on  this  occasion  was 
Alexander,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Dr.  McLeod.  There  is 
an  entry,  by  Mr.  Giflford,  in  an  old  book  of  records  of  this 
kind,  July  10,  1799  :  "The  following  subscription  is  in- 
tended for  each  Sabbath  that  we  have  sermon :  John 
Agnew,  one  dollar  ;  Andrew  Gilford,  fifty  cents  ;  James 
Donaldson,  three  shillings ;  Duncan  Campbell,  twenty- 
five  cents  ;  James  Nelson,  twenty-five  cents ;  David 
Clark,  twenty-five  cents ;  Samuel  Radcliflf,  twenty-five 
cents ;  John  Thomson,  twenty-five  cents ;  Mr.  Boggs, 
twenty-five  cents ;  Hugh  Small,  twenty-five  cents ; 
James  Smith,  twenty-five  cents  ;  William  Tait,  twenty- 
five  cents ;  Mr.  Fisher,  twenty-five  cents  ;  W.  Acheson, 
twenty-five  cents;  Betty,  sixpence;  Letty,  sixpence." 
Betty  was  Elizabeth  Wilson,  a  Yexy  pious  domestic  in  Mr. 
Agnew' s  life.  Such  humble  Christian  females  have  al- 
ways been  found  in  Christ' s  flock,  sharing  witli  the  Mas- 
ter's  followers  their  scanty  earnings,  and  preparing  for  the 
heavenly  state  where  all  earthly  distinctions  fade  away. 
Some  years  after,  we  find  these  same  persons  giving  their 
tens  and  hundreds  towards  the  erection  of  God' s  house. 
July  6,  1801,  marks  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Re- 
formed Presb}' terian  Church,  N'ew  York.  On  this  day, 
Alexander  McLeod  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  united  congregations  at  Wallkill  and  JN'ew  York. 
The  committee  meeting  on  this  occasion  were  John 
Black,  William  Gibson,  and  Samuel  B.  Wylie,  minis- 
ters ;  Andrew  Giflford  and  Robert  Beatty,  ruling  elders. 
"On  the  article  of  slavery,  Mr.  Beatty  promised  to 
have  the  freedom  of  the  three  negroes  belonging  to  him 
12 


178  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

registered  in  the  county  court  as  soon  as  may  be,  viz., 
Sally  and  Candace  at  the  age  of  twenty-live  years,  and 
Dick  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight." 

Mr,  McLeod  had  a  previous  call  to  "Wallkill,  but 
among  the  subscribers  to  it  were  holders  of  slaves,  and 
with  such  he  was  unwilling  to  commune.  The  Presby- 
tery, considering  the  subject,  "enacted  that  no  slave- 
holder should  be  retained  in  their  communion."  The 
account  adds:  "No  slaveholder  has  since  been  admit- 
ted to  the  communion  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church."'"  In  the  year  1802,  Mr.  McLeod  published 
his  sermon,  "Negro  Slavery  Unjustifiable,"  producing, 
it  is  said,  an  impression  in  favor  of  emancipation. 

The  two  congregations  at  New  York  and  Wallkill,  or 
Coldenham,  engaged  to  pay  Mr.  McLeod  a  salary  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  dollars  annually,  but  at  the 
expiration  of  three  years  he  selected  New  York  as  the 
onl}^  field  of  his  labors.  The  church  here  now  contained 
about  thirty  members,  and  tliey  met  for  religious  ser- 
vices in  a  small  room  on  Cedar  street.  Soon  after,  a  neat 
and  commodious  frame  church  was  erected  in  Chambers 
street,  and  prosperity  followed  tlie  undertaking.  In 
1805,  the  session  was  increased  by  the  addition  of 
Dr.  Sanuiel  Guthrie,  Hugh  Orr,  and  William  Acheson, 
as  ruling  elders.  At  the  close  of  1812,  the  congregation 
numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  communicants, 
when  John  Edgar  and  AVilliam  Pattison  were  added  to 
the  session,  with  Mr.  Thomas  Cumming  in  1817. 

This  edifice,  noAv  too  small,  was  taken  down,  and  a 
large  brick  one  erected  on  its  site  in  the  year  1818.     Dr. 

*  Rov.  Pr.  McLcod's  discourse,  "The  Stone  of  Help,"  December  26,  1847. 


EARLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  179 

McLeod  liad  continued  to  labor  with  all  diligence  in  liis 
sacred  calling  ;  he  had  composed,  also,  and  published 
his  "Ecclesiastical  Catechism,"  "Lectures  on  the  Pro- 
phecies," "Sermons  on  the  AVar,"  and  " Discourses  on 
the  Life  and  Power  of  True  Godliness."  These  were 
productions  of  great  mental  power  and  theological 
knowledge,  blessed  to  many  readers. 

Opposite  the  church  stood  the  old  City  Alms  House, 
with  many  destitute  children  ;  a  member  of  this  congre- 
gation commenced  a  Sabbath-school  among  them.  She 
was  a  widow  lady  by  the  name  of  Grant  Bossing,  and 
this  must  have  been  one  of  the  earliest  religious  institu- 
tions of  the  kind  in  our  city.  Her  name  should  be  grate- 
fully remembered  and  recorded. 

During  the  year  1827,  some  members  of  this  congre- 
gation purchased  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  Green- 
wich Village,  as  then  called,  to  accommodate  the  people 
residing  in  that  region.  Dr.  McLeod  opened  it  for  di- 
vine service,  and  this  became  the  Second  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York.  Tliere  Avas,  how- 
ever, some  opposition  to  the  measure,  and  during  its 
discussion.  Dr.  ]\IcLeod,  whose  health  had  become  im- 
paired, sailed  for  Europe.  On  his  return,  both  congre- 
gations, now  legally  organized,  offered  him  the  choice 
of  either  for  his  future  labors,  when  he  decided  to  re- 
main with  the  old  body,  in  December,  1830. 

About  1832-3,  the  storm  of  Secession  disturbed  tlie 
whole  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States,  concerning  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to 
enter  into  the  details.  A  minority  of  this  congregation 
seceded,   forming  a    separate    organization,   and    com 


180  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YOllK. 

mencing  suit  for  the  possession  of  the-  property.  But 
they  were  unsuccessful,  and  the  congregation  settled  the 
difterence  by  voluntarily  paying  a  sum  of  money  to  the 
"Seceders,"  to  end  the  unprofitable  controversy.  Dr. 
McLeod  and  people  had  always  acted  on  the  defensive, 
and  although  their  faith  and  patience  were  severely 
tried,  mutual  confidence  and  love  again  appeared  and 
continued  among  the  old  flock. 

On  the  first  Sabbath  in  December,  1832,  Dr.  McLeod 
made  his  last  public  appearance,  having  preached  during 
the  previous  three  months  two  discourses,  on  successive 
Sabbaths,  from  the  impressive  words,  "To  die  is  gain." 

The  last  time  he  addressed  his  people  was  the  Com- 
munion Sabbath,  and  the  occasion  is  engraven  on  many 
hearts.  "I  never  rose,"  said  the  preacher,  "to  speak 
to  saints  and  sinners  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  without 
fear  and  trembling.  How  much  more  do  I  now  tremble, 
under  this  load  of  infirmity,  b}^  which  I  am  admonished 
that  my  work  is  nearly  done."  He  spoke  most  impres- 
sivel}^  of  the  "Tree  of  Life,"  and  suddenly  closed,  after 
distributing  the,  symbols  of  our  Saviour' s  death;  by  ad- 
monishing all  to  make  sure  of  Heaven,  and  added :  "But 
I  feel  that  my  labors  in  the  sanctuary  below  are  about  to 
close.  I  shall  soon  go  away  to  eat  the  fruit  of  the  Tree 
of  Life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise  above." 
Two  months  after,  on  another  Sabbath  morning,  from 
his  dying  bed,  he  blessed  his  family  around  him,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  then  prayed,  and  fixing  his  last 
look  on  his  pious  and  beloved  wife,  watching  at  his  side, 
said,  distinctly,  "It  is  tlie  Sabbath,  and  I  am  at  j^eace," 
and  then  fell  asleep   in   Clirist,  February  17th,   1833, 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  181 

aged  fifty-eight  years,  and  in  the  thirty-fonrth  of  his 
ministry. 

Dr.  McLeod  was  the  first  pastor  of  this  chnrcli,  wliose 
pulpit  lias  not  been  vacant  for  almost  sixty-one  years. 
He  was  born  on  the  Island  of  Mull,  Scotland,  June  12th, 
1774,  his  father  and  maternal  grandfather  ministers  in 
the  Chnrcli  of  Scotland.  His  father's  parish,  the  Rev. 
Neal  McLeod,  embraced  the  celebrated  Island  of  loiia, 
where  Columba  taught  a  pure  faith  and  Gospel  more 
than  twelve  centuries  before  !  Dr.  Johnson,  in  his  visit 
to  the  Hebrides,  called  at  the  house  of  Neal  McLeod, 
and  pronounced  him  the  ' '  clearest  headed  man  in  the 
Highlands."  His  son  Alexander,  deprived  early  by 
death  of  both  parents,  resolved  to  make  the  New  World 
his  home,  reaching  New  York  in  1792.  Then  eighteen 
years  old,  he  went  to  Schenectady,  on  the  opening  of 
Union  College,  1798,  and  graduated  with  honor.  On 
the  24tli  of  June,  1799,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presby- 
tery to  preach  at  Coldenham,  New  York,  and  in  1801 
was  installed  at  New  York.  We  have  spoken  of  his 
writings,  which  are  elaborate,  and  among  the  reprints  of 
our  day.  Ardently  attached  to  his  own  Church,  still  he 
co-operated  with  good  men  in  good  works,  and  stood  fore- 
most among  the  literary  men  and  pulpit  orators  of  his 
day. 

The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  confered  upon  him  by  the 
University  of  Vermont,  and  the  honorary  one  of  M.  D. 
offered  to  liim  from  the  New  York  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons.  This  he  declined,  lest,  as  he  remarked, 
"  he  might  be  led  away  from  his  projDer  work." 
He  also  received  formal  calls  to  the  Reformed  Dutch 


182  EARLIEST  CHCTRCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Cljurcli  in  Garden  street,  the  Wall  street  and  the 
Rutgers  street  congregations  ;  but  he  declined  them  alL 
In  1812,  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  and  subsequently,  with  Dr.  Wylie,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  Romej^i,  New  York,  was  invited  to 
take  charge  of  Dickinson  College,  Pennsylvania.  But 
he  would  not  leave  his  pulpit,  with  its  important,  sol- 
emn duties. 

It  is  worthy  of  remembrance  that  Dr.  McLeod,  in  the 
year  181G,  visited  Washington,  and  preioared  the  way  to 
organize  the  American  Colonization  Society.  He  wrote 
the  Constitution.  What  untold  blessings  would  be  se- 
cured to  two  continents  and  their  myriad  populations,  if 
our  Negro  race,  now  causing,  remotely,  such  horrors  and 
bloodshed  among  us,  could  have  been  sent  to  Africa  by 
this  noble  philanthropy !  Dr.  McLeod  departed  this  life, 
liis  work  done,  in  faith,  love,  and  hope,  February  17th, 
1833,  aged  fifty-nine,  and  the  tliirty-fourth  of  his  ministry. 
He  rests  in  Greenwood,  where  his  congregation  have 
erected  a  suitable  monument  to  his  beloved  memory. 

Mr.  Jolin  Agnew,  one  of  the  first  ruling  elders  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Churcli,  was  also  a  good  and 
remarkable  man,  by  birth  an  Irishman,  a  descendant  of 
the  Covenanters  from  tlie  earlier  times.  A  merchant 
in  Belfast,  he  had  been  severely  fined  by  the  magistrate, 
when  taking  an  oath,  for  not  "kissing  the  book."  His 
windows  had  been  also  broken  by  the  mob,  because  he 
would  not  illuminate  them  for  some  victory  of  the  Brit- 
ish over  the  American  forces.  He  disliked  the  English 
rule  of  Ireland,  and  sympathizing  with  our  land,  he 
sought  an  asylum  in  New  York,  1783.     Mr,   Agnew 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  183 

possessed  intelligence,  sound  judgment,  and  piety. 
From  principle,  he  devoted  a  tenth  of  his  income  to  the 
promotion  of  God's  service,  besides  other  voluntary 
benefactions.  "You  are  going  to  leave  us,"  said  Dr. 
McLeod,  his  son-in-law,  just  before  he  expired.  "I 
am,"  replied  the  dying  man ;  "and  I  am  going  to  a  bet- 
ter country."  "Do  you  know  the  way?"  added  the 
Doctor.  "Yes,"  he  answered,  "as  well  as  I  know  the 
way  to  the  Coffee  House"  (the  name  of  the  old  Ex- 
change). 

Mr.  Andrew  Gifford  was  another  member  of  the  origi- 
nal session  of  the  First  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
in  New  York.  He  was  born  at  Loanhead,  near  Edin- 
burgh, and  came  to  America  before  the  formation  of  the 
Federal  Constitution.  A  man  of  lovely  character,  he 
was  intelligent,  judicious,  devout,  and  highly  useful  in 
the  judicatories  of  the  Church.  He  was  liberal  with  his 
means,  walking  with  God,  and  preparing  for  the  life  to 
come.  He  died  in  the  Lord,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-four,  having  lived  a  life  of  Christian  consistency. 

James  Nelson,  also  one  of  the  earliest  elders,  was  born 
in  Ireland,  and  had  been  a  ruling  elder  there.  He  was 
greatly  attached  to  his  Church,  and  served  her  faithfully  ; 
stern,  but  softened  with  increasing  years,  he  sought  to 
do  good  with  all  men.  Also  reaching  old  age,  he  dej)arted 
in  the  joyful  lio^^es  of  the  Gospel.  Mr.  Nelson  was  the 
father  of  Joseph  Nelson,  LL.  D.,  for  many  years,  though 
blind,  the  well-known  classical  teacher  in  New  York 
city.  His  scholars  were  always  among  the  best  prepared 
for  college.  Ultimately,  he  occupied  the  professorship 
of  languages  in  Rutgers  College,  New  Jersey. 


184  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

To  complete  the  list  of  the  original  session  of  the  first 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  we  must  add  the  name 
of  David  Clark.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  lived  nearly 
forty  years  in  New  York,  and  died  in  1836,  "  as  a  shock 
of  corn  ripe  in  its  season."  For  some  time  after  his 
settlement,  Dr.  A.  McLeod  made  his  home  under  the 
hospitable  roof  of  Mr.  Clark,  and  they  remained  devoted 
friends  until  death.  In  his  will,  he  left  one  thousand 
dollars  to  the  trustees  of  the  church,  in  trust,  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Gospel,  and  "though  dead,"  he  thus  speaketh, 
and  does  good. 

A  few  weeks  before  the  death  of  Dr.  A.  McLeod,  the 
congregation  called  his  son,  the  Rev.  John  N.  McLeod, 
as  colleague  with  his  father.  He  remains  to  this  time 
its  faithful  pastor.  In  the  year  1835,  the  congregation 
removed  from  Chambers  to  the  Union  Presbyterian 
Church,  on  Prince  and  Marion  streets.  This  congrega- 
tion, since  its  establishment  in  New  York,  has  main- 
tained itself  in  good  feeling  with  the  others  around  it. 
The  father  and  the  son  have  been  its  two  ministers,  the 
former  serving  his  generation  for  more  than  thirty-three 
years,  and  the  latter  thirty-two.  This  is  a  beautiful 
coincidence  in  relationship  and  the  sacred  ofiice,  and, 
amidst  the  never-ceasing  changes  of  our  great  city, 
such  an  example  of  stability  in  the  pastoral  relations  is 
very  seldom  known.  We  do  not  remember  a  similar 
instance  in  the  history  of  the  hundreds  of  New  York 
churches. 

In  the  year  1849,  the  congregation  sold  their  church 
property  in  Prince  street,  and  erected  a  new,  fine  house 
of  worshij)  on  Twelfth  street,  and  without  any  encum- 


EAKLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  185 

brance,  a  circumstance  that  can  be  so  seldom  written 
about  our  city  cliurclies.  There  have  been  three  off- 
shoots, between  the  years  1848  and  1854,  from  this 
congregation,  but  made  at  periods  not  embraced  in 
our  x)lan. 


IPO  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ASSOCIATE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    FORMED    BY    REV.    MR.  BEVERIDGE, 

1785,    AND    HOUSE    ERECTED    ON    NASSAU    STREET HIS    SUCCESSORS 

UNITE    WITH    THE     GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF     PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 

MINISTERS MAGAZINE     STREET    CHURCH,    AFTERWARDS    PEARL ITS 

FIRST  PASTOR,  REV.  ROBERT  FOREST^HIS    SUCCESSORS,  JOHN  CLARK, 
WILLIAM    W.    PHILLIPS,    WALTER    MONTEITH,    BENJAMIN    RICE,    HENRY 

A.    ROWLAND,    CHARLES    H.    READ CHURCH    BURNED  AND   REBUILT 

BAPTIST    CHURCH    COMMENCED,   1762 ITS    FOUNDERS ELDER    GANO 

GOLD    STREET    CHURCH    TURNED    INTO    A    STABLE    FOR    THE   BRITISH 

CAVALRY MINISTERS NEW  STONE    CHURCH  BUILT  1802 SLAVERY 

QUESTION NEW    CONGREGATION    FORMED     ON     ROSE     STREET REV. 

MR.  PARKINSON NEW  CHURCH  BUILT  ON  BROOME  AND  ELM  STREETS, 

REV.    DR.    CONE,    PASTOR CHURCHES    SPRUNG    FROM    GOLD    STREET 

CONGREGATION. 

This  first  Associate  Presbyterian  Churcli  in  our  city 
was  formed  by  tli(i  Rev.  Thomas  Beveridge,  in  tlie  spring 
of  1785,  and  lie  afterwards  settled  at  Cambridge,  New 
York,' and  died  at  Barnet,  Vermont,  July  23,  1798.  For 
this  congregation,  a  house  of  Avorship  was  erected  in  1787, 
on  Nassau  street,  near  Fulton.  Its  first  pastor,  the  Rev. 
John  Cree,  was  installed  October  12,  1792,  and  remain- 
ing only  two  years,  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania.  For 
eiglit  years,  this  congregation  remained  without  any 
pastor,  when,  early  in  1821,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Stark 
was  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  to  supply  the  vacancy, 
and  installed  in  May,  1820.  Two  years  afterwards,  this 
congregation  sold  tlieir  house  of  worship  in   Nassau 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  187 

street,  and  erected  a  new  one  on  the  corner  of  Grand 
and  Mercer  streets,  to  which  they  removed  in  August, 
1824.  There  were  two  other  branches  of  the  Associate 
Church,  one  on  the  corner  of  Thompson  and  Prince, 
and  the  other  at  tlie  corner  of  Houston  and  Forsyth 
streets. 

In  May,  1822,  the  three  "Associate  Reformed" 
Churches  of  New  York,  witli  nine  others  elsewhere, 
belonging  to  the  same  Synod,  united  with  the  General 
Assembly  of  tlie  Presbyterian  Church.  Several  years 
now  passed  away,  during  whicli  period  there  was  no 
Associate  Reformed  congregation  in  New  York.  In  the 
year  1831,  however,  the  Rev.  William  McAuley  col- 
lected and  organized  "the  Fourth  Associate  Reformed 
Church."  Its  members  held  their  first  meeting  October, 
1831,  in  the  Rutgers  Medical  College,  Duane  street,  and 
afterwards  purchased  the  house  of  worship  on  Franklin, 
near  Varick  street,  1837.  Here  labored,  with  much 
acceptance  and  success,  the  Rev.  James  Lillie  and  the 
Rev.  William  McLaren.  The  "Fifth  Associate  Re- 
formed Church"  was  founded  November,  1838,  cliiefly 
through  the  efibrts  of  the  Rev.  James  Mairs.  At 
first  he  preached  in  a  school-room,  Allen  street — then 
he  removed  to  the  Medical  College,  Crosby  street,  and 
died  1840.  The  Rev.  Peter  Gordon  succeeded  him, 
the  congregation.  May  1,  1844,  purchasing  a  house  of 
worship  near  Abingdon  Square,  on  Jane  street.  These 
last-named  churches  we  can  only  thus  generally  notice, 
as  they  do  not  belong  to  the  oldest  in  our  city,  but  Avere 
descendants  of  the  "Associate  Reformed." 

In  point  of  time,  there  was  an  Associate  Reformed 


188  EARLIEST   CIIUECIIER   IN   TiEW   YORK. 

congregation  organized  earlier  than  tlie  Murray  street 
one.  This  was  the  second  or  "Magazine  Street  Church," 
afterward  Pearl,  founded  in  the  year  1797.  Their  house 
of  worship,  a  substantial  stone  edifice,  sixty-six  feet  long, 
fifty-six  wide,  stood  on  Pearl,  between  Elm  and  Broad- 
way. It  formed  for  a  few  years  a  collegiate  charge  with  the 
Scotch  Church,  Cedar  street,  but  separated  again  in  1804. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Forest,  a  native  of  Dunbar,  Scot- 
land, was  the  first  pastor,  installed  in  the  spring  of 
1804,  and  labored  here  with  talent  and  fidelity  for  seven 
years.  He  died  in  Stamford,  Delaware  County,  New 
York,  in  1846,  aged  seven ty-eight.  He  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  John  X.  Clark,  in  1811.  After  seven 
3^ears'  labors,  he  resigned  the  charge,  and  the  Rev. 
William  W.  Phillips  was  installed,  in  1818  ;  but  during 
the  year  1826,  he  was  called,  and  accepted  the  Wall 
Street  Church.  The  Rev.  Walter  Monteith  followed 
Dr.  Phillips,  and  installed  August  23,  1826  ;  his  minis- 
try continuing  until  1829,  and  then,  in  December,  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Rice  took  charge  of  the  congregation. 
He  resigned  in  1833,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Rowland 
took  his  place,  April  17, 1834.  This  church,  three  years 
afterwards,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  rebuilt.  Mr. 
Rowland  resigning  the  charge  in  1843,  the  Rev.  Charles 
H.  Reed  was  installed  December  13,  1843. 

There  were  Baptists  as  early  as  1657  in  Xcav  Nether- 
lands, as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  by  Dominies  Mega- 
polensis  and  Drissius,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  to 
the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  August  5, 1657.  The  commu- 
nication relates  to  the  state  of  religion  in  the  province, 
1657-1712.    Speaking  of  Long  Island,  it  says  :  "Graves- 


EAELIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN  NEW   YORK.  189 

end,  Middleburg,  Vlissingen,  and  Heemstede,  were  es- 
tablished by  the  Engiisli.  Those  of  Gravesend  are 
reported  Mennonists  :  yea,  they,  for  the  most  part,  reject 
Infant  Baptism,  the  Sabbath,  the  office  of  Preacher,  and 
the  Teachers  of  God's  word,  saying,  that  through  these 
have  come  all  sorts  of  contention  into  the  world.  When- 
ever they  meet  together,  the  one  or  the  other  reads  some- 
thing for  one.  .  .  .  Last  year  a  fomenter  of  error 
came  there.  lie  was  a  cobbler  from  Rhode  Island,  in 
New  England,  and  stated  that  he  was  commissioned  by 
Christ.  He  began  to  preach  at  Flushing,  and  then  went 
with  the  people  into  the  river  and  dipped  them.  This 
becoming  known,  the  Fiscal  proceeded  thither  and 
brought  him  along.  He  Avas  banished  the  province."* 
His  name  was  Wickenden. 

The  same  letter  states  that  one  young  Indian  had  been 
instructed  for  two  years,  "so  that  he  could  read  and 
write  good  Dutch."  He  was  also  furnished  with  a 
Bible,  "in  order  to  work  through  him  some  good  among 
the  Indians.  But  it  all  resulted  in  nothing.  He  has 
taken  to  drinking  of  brandy  ;  he  pawned  the  Bible  and 
became  a  real  beast,  who  is  doing  more  harm  than  good 
among  the  Indians."  At  that  early  period,  as  now,  the 
vice  of  intemperance  too  often  cursed  both  civilized  and 
savage  men.  Said  an  Onondaga  Chief,  "When  we  visit 
Fort  Orange,  they  never  talk  to  us  of  prayer,  and  we  do 
not  know  even  if  they  pray  there." 

About  fifty  years  after  this  period,  we  find  ' '  the  humble 
peticon  of  Nicholas  Eyers,  brewer,  a  Baptist  teacher  in  the 

*  This  letter  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt.  See  Doc.  Hist.,  vol. 
iii.  103. 


190  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IX   NEW   YORK. 

city  of  New  York,"  to  His  Excellency  Governor  Wil- 
liam Burnet/^  He  states  that  lie  had  hired  a  house  in 
Broad  street,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  February,  1715, 
"for  an  anabatised  meeting-house,'"  and  "had  been  a 
public  preacher  to  a  baptist  congregacon  within  this  city 
for  four  years,"  and  had  "an  ample  certificate  of  his 
good  behaviour  and  innocent  conversacon." 

Mr.  Eyers,  therefore,  humbly  prays  Governor  Burnet, 
that  he  may  be  permitted  ' '  to  execute  the  ministerial! 
function  of  a  minister  within  this  city' '  to  a  Baptist  con- 
gregation. Testimonials  also  were  presented  of  his 
good  character — "blameless,  and  free  from  any  noto- 
rious public  slander  and  vice,  has  gained  himself  the 
good  name  and  reputation  of  his  neighbours  of  being  a 
sober,  just,  and  honest  man  ;  and  is  said  to  be  an  ana- 
baptist, as  to  his  profession  in  religion." 

The  Governor  accordingly  granted,  on  the  23d  January, 
1721,  his  request,  and  agreeably  to  the  British  statute  at 
that  period.  This  is  the  earliest  record  we  have  met 
with  of -a  Baptist  church  in  our  city.  The  Rev.  A.  D. 
Gillette  states,  that  the  first  Baptist  church  in  New  York 
was  founded  in  the  year  1762,  but  that  "Baptist  wor- 
ship and  an  irregular  church  arrangement  had  been 
maintained"  t  in  this  city  from  1669. 

We  have  an  authentic  account  of  the  "  First  Baptist 
Church  in  the  city  of  New  York,"  in  the  Jubilee  Ser- 
mon, by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parkinson,  its  pastor.  It  was  de- 
livered in  the  "Gold  Street  Meeting-house,"  January  1, 
1813,  its  fiftieth  anniversary.  Before  the  formation  of 
thir-;  congregation,  a  Baptist  society  had  existed,  consist- 

*Doc.  Tlist,  vol.  Hi.  480.  f  Rupp's  Rol.  Den.,  p.  54 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   TORE.  191 

iiig  however  of  professed  Arrainians,  but  called  Baptist, 
merely  from  tlieir  ordinance  of  immersion.  It  was 
founded  loy  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wickenden,  of  Providence, 
Mr.  Whitman,  of  Groton,  and  Mr.  Ayres,  New  York,  all 
of  whom  were  Arminian  Baptist  preachers. 

Mr.  Wickenden  first  preached  here  about  the  year 
1709,  suffering  three  months  imprisonment  for  officiating 
without  license  from  the  crown  officer.  Mr.  Whitman 
came  to  the  city  at  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Ayres,  at  whose 
house  he  preached  occasionally  for  two  years.  Under 
his  ministry,  a  number  became  serious  ;  he  baptized 
Nicholas  Ayres,  Nathaniel  Morey,  Anthony  Webb,  John 
Howes,  Edward  Hoyter,  Cornelius  Stephens,  James 
Daneman,  Elizabeth  Morey,  Hannah  Wright,  Esther 
Cowley,  Martha  Stephens,  Mrs.  Miller.  These  twelve 
are  said  to  have  been  the  first  persons  baptized  in  this 
city.  Fearing  a  mob,  the  females  received  the  ordinance 
at  night.  The  next  day,  however,  the  others  were  quietly 
baptized,  in  the  presence  of  Governor  Burnet. 

In  the  year  1724,  Mr.  Ayres  was  ordained  the  pastor 
of  this  little  flock,  by  Elders  Valentine  Whitman,  of 
Groton,  and  Daniel  Whitman,  of  Newport.  His  hearers 
increasing,  the  private  house  could  not  accommodate 
them,  when  a  lot  was  purchased  on  "Golden  Hill" — 
John,  Clilf,  and  Gold  streets,  and  during  the  year  1728  a 
place  of  worship  erected.  To  the  pious  band  six  more 
were  added — William  Ball,  Ahasuerus  Windal  (Albany), 
Abigail  and  Dinah  North  (Newtown),  Martha  Walton, 
(Long  Island),  and  Richard  Stilwell,  Jr.  Mr.  Ayres 
remaining  their  pastor  seven  years,  then  removed  to 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1731,  where  he  died.     A  Mr. 


192  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Jolin  Stevens  succeeded  liim,  baptizing  six  more  persons 
— Robert  North,  Mary  Murphy,  Hannah  French,  Mary 
Stilwell,  and  two  others  Avhose  names  we  have  not  ascer- 
tained. Mr.  Stevens  going  to  Soutli  Carolina,  their 
meeting-house  was  sold  as  private  property,  when  the 
Arminian  Baptist  Church,  then  numbering  twenty-four 
members,  dissolved,  after  a  history  of  eight  years. 

About  1745,  Jeremiah  Dodge,  a  Baptist  from  Fishkill, 
settled  in  ISTew  York  and  opened  his  house  for  prayer- 
meetings.  During  the  same  year.  Elder  Benjamin  Mil- 
ler, of  Scotch  Plains,  visited  the  city  and  baptized  Joseph 
Meeks,  who,  with  Mr.  Dodge  and  a  Mr.  Robert  North, 
united  in  an  invitation  to  John  Pine,  a  licentiate  at  Fish- 
kill,  to  be  their  preacher.  His  preaching  place  appears 
principally  to  have  been  the  house  of  Mr.  Meeks.  In 
1750,  Mr.  Pine  dying,  the  little  flock  Avas  visited  by 
Elder  James  Carman,  of  Cranberry,  and  their  number 
was  increased  to  thirteen.  They  united  with  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Scotch  Plains,  New  Jersey,  as  a  branch,  in 
1753  ;  Elder  Benjamin  Miller  their  pastor,  who  preached 
to  them  and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  once  a 
quarter. 

The  congregation  soon  becoming  too  large  for  any  pri- 
vate dwelling,  a  rigging-loft,  on  Horse  and  Cart  street, 
was  obtained  for  tlieir  public  services.  This  was  the 
early  name  of  William  street. 

As  soon  as  the  Baptists  had  erected  tlieir  ' '  meeting- 
house" in  Gold  street,  on  the  IDtli  of  June,  1762,  they 
were  solemnly  constituted  a  church,  by  the  assist- 
ance of  Elders  Benjamin  Miller  and  John  Gano.  On 
the  same  day,    John    Carman   and   Samuel  Edmunds 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORX.  193 

were  elected  the  first  deacons,  and  Samuel  Dodge,  Clerk. 
Mr.  Dodge  remained  a  faitliful  officer,  both  as  deacon 
and  clerk,  from  the  constitution  of  the  church  until  his 
death,  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years.  He  ended  his 
useful  and  unblemished  life  in  Poughkeepsie,  October 
4,  1807,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  Jolm  Bedient  was 
chosen  next,  resigning  in  1809,  when  Deacon  Rosewell 
Graves  became  clerk  of  the  cliurch. 

As  soon  as  the  Gold  Street  Church  was  constituted, 
Elder  John  Gano  was  unanimously  called  to  take  charge 
of  its  pastorate.  He  had  been  officiating  at  Yadkin, 
North  Carolina,  and  his  "  praise  was  in  all  the  churches" 
— of  Huguenot  descent,  and  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1727, 
where  he  was  called  to  the  Gospel  ministry,  1754 ;  he 
first  preached  at  Morristown  for  two  years,  and  then  re- 
moved to  North  Carolina,  where  he  collected  a  large 
congregation.  His  flock  dispersed  by  the  Indians  in 
the  war  of  1756,  himself  and  family  fled  for  their  lives. 

At  New  York,  his  hearers  increased  so  much  that  it 
became  necessary  to  enlarge  their  *' meeting-house"  in  the 
year  1763.  The  congregation,  then  numbering  forty-one 
members,  and  prosperous,  was  received  into  the  Phila- 
delphia Association,  maintaining  this  connection  untU 
October,  1790,  twenty-seven  years,  when  they  took  a 
dismission  from  that  venerable  body,  to  form  an  associa- 
tion with  other  churches  in  this  city. 

On  the  12th  of  April  following,  the  representatives  of 
seven  Baptist  Churches  assembled  in  New  York  for  this 
purpose— Scotch  Plains,  New  Jersey  ;  Oyster  Bay,  Long 
Island ;  Morristown,  New  Jersey  ;  Cannoe  Brook,  now 

Northfield  ;    Staten  Island,  with  the  first  and  second 
13 


194  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

(Bethel)  in  New  York.  This  body  adjourned  to  October 
19,  1791,  wlien  its  members  formally  united  under  the 
name  of  the  New  York  Baptist  Association.  Its  first 
meeting  assembled  October  31,  1792,  when  five  other 
churches  were  added — Piscataway,  Lyon's  Farms, 
Mount  Bethel,  Potafrag,  and  Sag  Harbor.  The  body  then 
adjourned  till  the  last  Wednesday  but  one  in  May,  1793, 
and  this  month  has  been  the  time  of  its  annual  meeting 
ever  since.  The  first  church  in  New  York  consisted  of 
two  hundred  members,  and  their  peace  was  disturbed, 
Mr.  Gano  records,  ' '  by  the  arrival  of  two  or  three 
preachers  from  England."  From  his  statement,  they 
aimed  to  divide  the  church,  but  failed,  causing  however 
much  trouble.* 

Soon  after  this,  there  arose  much  difference  of  opinion 
about  Psalmody.  The  old  custom  had  been  to  have  the 
lines  read,  or  "given  out;"  but  now  a  large  majorit}" 
favored  singing  from  the  books,  as  is  now  the  custom. 
The  minority,  liowever,  numbering  fourteen,  took  their 
dismissions  June  5,  1790,  and  were  constituted  the 
"Second  Baptist  Church  in  New  York,"  by  Elders 
Miller  and  Gano.  Its  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  John 
Dodge,  a  native  of  Long  Island,  born  in  1738,  and  stu- 
died medicine.  He  became  a  Baptist  in  Baltimore,  and 
joining  the  Second  Church  in  New  York,  was  licensed  to 
preach  January  14,  1771. 

During  our  Revolutionary  War,  Mr.  Gano  became  a 
chaplam  in  the  army,  and  this  church  was  dispersed. 
The  last  time  he  administered  baptism,  before  this  event, 
was  on  April  28,  1776,  and  the  first,  after  his  return,  on 

*  Life  of  Gano,  written  by  himself. 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IK   NEW   YORK.  195 

September  4th,  1784.  On  reassembling  his  flock,  Mr. 
Gano  remarks:  "We  collected  of  our  church  about 
tliirty-seven  members  out  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  ; 
some  being  dead,  and  others  scattered  into  almost  every 
part  of  the  Union." 

The  "Gold  Street  Meeting-house,"  in  common  mth 
some  other  places  of  worship,  had  been  turned  into  a 
stable  for  the  British  cavalry.  Soon  repaired,  however, 
after  the  peace,  Mr.  Gano  preached  an  appropriate  ser- 
mon from  this  text :  "  Who  is  left  among  you  that  saw 
this  house  in  her  first  glory  1  and  how  do  ye  see  it  now  ? 
Is  it  not  in  your  eyes  in  comparison  of  it  as  nothing  ?" 
Hag.  ii.  3.  The  congregation  soon  again  greatly  in- 
creased ;  and,  much  to  the  sorrow  of  its  members,  their 
pastor,  after  preaching  to  them  nearly  twenty- six  years, 
removed  to  Kentucky.  On  the  4th  of  Ma}^,  1788,  he 
delivered  an  affectionate  sermon  from  "  Fare  ye  well," 
Acts  XV.  29  ;  and  the  next  day  left  with  his  family  for 
his  new  home,  reaching  Limestone  in  May  following. 
Br.  Benjamin  Foster,  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  suc- 
ceeded him,  in  1788.  Ho  received  his  degree  of  D.  D. 
from  the  College  of  Rhode  Island,  for  his  learned  ' '  Dis- 
sertation on  the  Seventy  Weeks  of  Daniel ;' '  he  excelled 
in  the  oriental  languages.  The  Doctor's  ministry,  al- 
though acceptable,  experienced  difficulties,  some  of  his 
members  professing  to  discover  in  his  discourses  what 
was  then  called  "  New  Divinity." 

With  such  controversies  we  have  nothing  to  do,  but 
to  record  them.  The  difficulty,  however,  became  so 
serious,  that  a  number  of  persons  took  letters  of  dis- 
mission, and  joined  the  Second  Baptist  Church.     Dr. 


196  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEAV   YORK. 

Foster  died  of  the  yellow  fever,  during  the  prevalence 
of  that  epidemic  in  1798,  aged  forty-eight,  and  in  the 
twenty- second  of  his  ministry.  Mr.  AVilliam  Collier,  a 
licentiate  of  the  Second  Baj^tist  Church,  Boston,  next 
occupied  this  pulpit,  in  1800.  In  March,  1801,  the  "  old 
meeting-house"  taken  down,  a  new  one  was  opened 
upon  the  same  spot,  Sunday,  May  2,  1802,  Dr.  Stephen 
Gano,  of  Providence,  delivering  the  discourse,  from 
"  An  altar  of  earth  thou  shalt  make  unto  me,"  etc.  Ex. 
XX.  24.  The  edifice  measured  eighty  feet  by  sixty-five, 
built  of  stone,  and  cost  about  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars. During  its  erection,  the  congregation  worshipped 
in  the  French  Huguenot  Church,  Pine  street. 

In  1804,  Jeremiah  Chaplin,  a  young  man  from  Dan- 
vers,  Massachusetts,  was  called  to  aid  Mr.  Collier, 
whose  health  became  feeble.  Having  faithfully  served 
the  Gold  street  congregation,  he  accepted  a  call  from 
Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1804.  Mr.  Chaplin  was 
ordained  the  same  yeai',  and  returned  immediately  to 
Danvers. 

The  Rev.  WUliam  Parkinson,  A.  M.,  from  Frederick- 
town,  Maryland,  became  pastor  of  this  congregation  on 
the  8th  of  February,  1805,  and,  for  the  first  time  after 
his  arrival,  administered  baptism  to  two  subjects  on 
Sunday,  March  3,  1805,  and  eight  the  following  month. 
Mr.  Parkinson's  ministry  was  crowned  with  much  suc- 
cess, his  communicants  increasing  nearly  one  hundred 
during  the  first  year  of  his  Christian  labors. 

After  a  few  years,  however  (1808),  some  dissensions 
arose  about  doctrine  and  slave-holding.  It  was  re- 
solved, "tliat  in  future,  no  person  holding  a  slave  for 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  197 

life  slionld  Ibe  admitted  a  member,"  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  "  to  wait  on  such  of  the  members  as  held 
slaves,  to  obtain,  if  possible,  their  consent  to  manumit 
them,  at  such  periods  as  their  several  ages  and  times  of 
past  service  might  justify,  and  to  take  their  certificates 
of  the  same  accordingly."  This  question  made  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  until,  linally,  twenty-six  of  the  members 
requested  a  dismission,  to  be  constituted  a  church.  In 
Marcli,  1811,  their  request  granted,  they  formed  a  new 
congregation,  under  the  name  of  "Zoar."  They  hired 
a  little  church  on  Rose  street,  oj)posite  the  Quaker 
meeting-house,  inviting  their  old  pastor,  Mr.  Parkin- 
son, to  preach  at  its  opening.  But  this  society  dissolved 
in  less  than  a  year. 

The  Rev.  William  Parkinson  continued  in  the  pastoral 
office  about  thirty-five  years,  when  he  resigned,  in  1840. 
At  that  period,  it  was  thought  expedient  to  remove  the 
place  of  worship,  when  the  new  and  elegant  stone 
building  was  finished  on  the  corner  of  Broome  and  Eli- 
zabeth streets,  and  opened  for  public  worship  in  the 
spring  of  1841.  In  July  following,  the  Rev.  Spencer 
H.  Cone,  D.  D.,  of  the  Oliver  Street  Baptist  Church,  was 
invited  to  the  pastoral  office  in  this,  and  he  entered  im- 
mediately upon  its  duties.  In  1845,  he  reported  nearly 
six  hundred  members  in  his  communion. 

Some  notice  should  be  taken  of  the  early  churches 
that  proceeded  from  old  Gold  street,  and  we  follow  the 
time  of  their  organization.  Peekskill,  Stamford,  Con- 
necticut, 1773.  Abyssinian,  Anthony  street ;  Newtown, 
Long  Island  ;  JSTorth  Ba]ptist,  Budd  street,  New  York — 
all  constituted  in  the  year  1809.     The  ministers  of  these 


198  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

congregations,  when  founded,  were  Thomas  Ustick,  who 
died  in  Philadeljjhia,  1803  ;  Ebenezer  Ferris,  who  consti- 
tuted the  church  in  Stamford,  1773,  preaching  there  for 
many  years  ;  Isaac  Skilhnan,  afterwards  Doctor,  who 
became  pastor  of  the  congregation  at  Salem,  New  Jer- 
sey, where  he  ended  his  days  ;  Stephen  Gano,  son  of 
the  pastor  in  Gold  Street  Church,  who  studied  medicine, 
and  for  many  years  served  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Providence,  Rliode  Island ;  Thomas  Montanye,  who 
labored  for  several  years  at  Deer  Park,  Warwick,  New 
York,  and  then  in  Southampton,  Pennsylvania  ;  Corne- 
lius P.  Wyckoff,  pastor  of  the  North  Baptist  Church  in 
this  city  ;  James  Bince,  who  became  pastor  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  on  Staten  Island,  and  died  at  the  early  age 
of  nineteen,  in  1811. 

The  Baptist  Church  on  Staten  Island  was  principally 
formed  of  persons  who  had  been  communicants  in  the 
old  Gold  Street  Tabernacle.  Elder  Elkanah  Holmes 
was  one  of  the  early  and  most  useful  preachers  in  that 
section.     He  afterwards  retired  to  Canada.* 

*  Mr.  Parkinson's  Jubilee  Sermon. 


EAELIEST   CHUKCHES  IN   NEW   YORK.  199 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

BAPTIST     CHURCHES,      CONTINUED  "  BETHESDA"  SECOND      BAPTIST 

CHURCH BETHEL,    ON    ROSE    STREET PASTORS REV.   MB.   CHASE 

HIS     NEW     CHURCH     ON    CHRISTIE    AND     DELANCEY DIFFICULTIES 

OLIVER  STREET  CHURCH REV.  JOHN    WILLIAMS,  PASTOR;    MR.   CONE, 

ASSISTANT ABYSSINIAN    CHURCH    IN   ANTHONY,    NEAR   WEST    BROAD- 
WAY  MINISTERS NORTH  BEBEAH  CHURCH    IN  VANDAM A    COLONY 

FROM     GOLD     STREET DESTROYED     BY     FIRE,     AND     A     NEW    HOUSE 

BUILT     IN     MCDOWELL     STREET PASTORS OTHER     CHURCHES     FROM 

THE    BE  RE  AN. 

When  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parkinson  resigned  tlie  charge 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Gold  street,  1840,  about 
seventy  of  its  members,  preferring  to  remain  under  his 
ministr}^,  organized  the  "  Bethesda  Church."  They 
held  meetings  in  a  school-room  in  Crosby  street,  Mr. 
Parkinson  preaching  for  them,  until  prevented  by  in- 
firmity from  officiating  any  longer.  The  Rev.  J.  C. 
Hopkins  became  their  next  pastor. 

SECOND  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

Tlie  difiiculties  before  alluded  to  in  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  during  the  ministries  of  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Gano  (1770)  and  Dr.  Foster  (1790),  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  "  Second  Baptist  Church  in  Kew  York." 
Differences  arose  here  also,  and,  in  the  year  1791,  this 
congregation  divided  into  two  parties,  both  claiming  the 
name  of  the   "  Second  Church."     But  better  counsels 


200  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   11^   NEW    YORK. 

prevailing,  they  relinquished  the  title  they  had  so  long 
differed  about.  One  party  was  called  the  "Bethel 
Church,"  and  the  other  "  The  Baptist  Church  in  Fayette 
street."  Thus  the  "Second  Baptist  Church  in  New 
York"  became  no  longer  known  by  that  name. 


BETHEL  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

After  this  division,  the  Bethel  Church  continued  their 
worship  in  the  little  building  on  Rose  street,  near  Pearl. 
In  1793,  it  numbered  only  thirty-seven  members,  the 
Rev.  Adam  Hamilton  their  pastor,  who  remained  until 
1795,  when  the  Rev.  Chaiies  Loliatt  succeeded  him  in 
the  ministry  for  seven  years.  The  Rev.  Daniel  Hall 
became  the  next  pastor  for  fourteen  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  tlie  Rev.  Johnson  Chase,  in  the  year  1817. 

Mr.  Hall,  early  in  his  ministry,  about  1806,  removed 
with  his  congregation  from  Rose  street  to  a  small  wooden 
building  on  Broome  street,  near  the  Bowery.  When 
Mr.  Chase  commenced  the  pastorate,  a  large  congrega- 
tion soon  collected,  numbering,  in  1820,  over  four  hun- 
dred communicants.  During  the  year  1820,  they  erected 
a  commodious  brick  church,  sixty -five  by  eighty-five 
feet  in  size,  on  the  corner  of  Christie  and  Delancey  streets. 
The  congregation  continued  until  1830,  when  difficulties 
and  parties  arising,  the  following  year,  those  opposed 
to  the  pastor  claimed  to  be  the  true  "Bethel  Church," 
and  were  joined  by  the  members  of  the  Elizabeth  Street 
Church  and  their  pastor,  the  Rev.  William  G.  Miller. 
Curious  enough,  both  parties  presented  the  usual  letter 
to  the  Association,  the  one  claiming  Mr.  Chase  as  their 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  201 

pastor,  and  the  other,  Mr.  Miller.  Warmly  contested, 
the  matter  was  postponed  a  year,  but  finally  settled  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Miller's  claims.  Mr,  Chase  and  adherents 
then  withdrew  from  the  Association,  recording  their 
reasons,  and  Mr.  Miller's  congregation  was  acknowl- 
edged as  the  true  Bethel  Church.  •  Both  still  claiming 
the  house  of  worship,  very  improper  efforts  were  made 
to  retain  its  possession.  Mr.  Miller' s  friends,  however, 
prevailed,  and  Mr.  Chase  retiring,  his  people  -worshipped 
by  themselves,  first  in  Mott  street,  and  afterwards,  at 
other  places. 

Mr.  Miller  continued  to  preach  in  the  Delancey  Street 
Church  until  the  edifice,  embarrassed  with  debt,  was 
abandoned.  The  congregation  then  retired  to  a  public 
hall  on  the  Bowery,  and  next  to  Sixth  street.  He  re- 
signed his  charge  about  the  end  of  the  year  1838,  and 
subsequently,  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  of  the  mem- 
bers, having  been  dismissed,  formed  the  "  Sixth  Street 
Baptist  Church."  The  "  Meeting-House"  on  Delancey 
street,  concerning  which  there  had  been  such  contention, 
became  a  public  stable  ! 

OLIVER   STREET   CETCIRCH. 

Oliver  was  formerly  called  "Fayette  street,"  and 
here  the  portion  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church  com- 
menced public  worship,  when  a  separation  took  ]Dlace 
in  that  congregation,  during  the  year  1791.  As  we 
have  before  noticed,  both  parties  had  claimed  the  title  of 
the  "  Second  Baptist  Church,"  but  relinquishing  it,  this 
branch  became  known  as  the  "Church  in  Fayette 
street,"  and,  in  1821,  the  "Oliver  Street  Church."     In 


202  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   US"   NEW   YORK. 

the  year  1795,  this  congregation  built  a  liouse  of  wor- 
ship on  the  corner  of  Oliver  and  Henry  streets.  It  was 
small,  and  again  rebuilt  in  1800  ;  more  permanently 
during  1819  ;  and  destroyed  by  fire,  1843.  A  beautiful 
brick  edifice  succeeded  in  the  following  year.  This 
congregation  has  been  blessed  with  a  regular,  able,  and 
permanent  ministry,  and  its  success  constant.  For 
nearly  thirty  years,  from  1793  to  1822,  that  excellent 
and  faithful  man,  the  Rev.  John  AVilliams,  was  the  sole 
pastor.  On  the  22d  of  May,  1825,  he  rested  from  his 
Gospel  earthly  labors,  aged  fifty-eight.  He  was  the 
honored  father  of  the  present  William  R.  Williams, 
D.  D.,  so  well  known  for  his  liberal,  evangelical  piety, 
learning,  and  pulpit  eloquence  among  us.  In  the  year 
1823,  the  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone  became  the  colleague 
of  Mr.  Williams,  and  remained  pastor  of  tlie  "Oliver 
Street  Church"  until  July,  1841,  when  he  was  called  to 
the  puli^it  of  the  "First  Baptist  Church,"  in  Broome 
street,  near  the  Bowery. 

ABYSSINIAN  CHURCH. 

This  was  a  little  colony  from  the  "Gold  Street  Church," 
and  constituted  with  only  eighteen  members,  July  5th, 
1809,  and  for  several  years  they  had  no  regular  pastor. 
A  house  of  worship  was  obtained  on  Anthony  street, 
near  West  Broadway,  which  had  been  erected  by  the 
"Ebenezer"  Church.  Here,  the  Rev.  J.  Van  Velsen 
and  the  Rev.  Drake  Wilson  preached  for  several  years, 
until  1824,  and  then  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Paul  took 
charge  of  the  congregation,  remaining  about  six  years. 
When  he  left,  he  was   followed  by  the    Rev.  James 


EAELIEST  CIIURCnES   IN"   NEW   YOKK.  203 

Haylborn,  in  1832,  who  remained  three  years,  until 
removed  by  deatli.  Then  followed  successively,  the 
Rev.  William  J.  Loomis  and  Rev.  William  Moore. 
In  1841,  the  Rev.  Samson  White  took  the  spiritual 
charge  of  this  congregation.  The  Abyssinian  Church 
has  experienced  in  its  history  many  trials  and  diffi- 
culties, especially  from  pecuniary  embarrassments,  tlie 
building  once  having  been,  on  this  account,  sold  at  pub- 
lic auction.  Still  the  little  band  triumphed  over  their 
trouble,  and,  at  one  period  afterwards,  numbered  more 
than  four  hundred  and  fifty  communicants. 

NORTH   BEREAH   CHURCH. 

This  church  colonized  from  the  Gold  street  congrega- 
tion, November  13th,  1809,  meeting  for  divine  services 
in  Vandam,  then  Budd  street.  It  was  called  the  "  ISTorth 
Church,"  until  1818,  then  "Bereah"  was  added.  A 
frame  meeting-house  was  biult  in  Vandam,  near  Hudson 
street,  and  continued  to  be  their  place  of  worship  until 
1819,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  During  the  next 
year,  a  large  and  neat  brick  church  was  erected  on 
McDougal,  near  Vandam  street,  where  the  Bereans 
stiU  worship  God. 

Its  first  minister  was  the  Rev.  C.  P.  Wyckoff,  who  com- 
menced his  labors  in  1812,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Amasa  Smith,  1821.  Then  came  the  Rev.  Aaron 
Perkins,  1825,  and,  in  the  year  1829,  the  Rev.  Duncan 
Dunbar,  who  faithfully  preached  here  a  long  time.  The 
Berean  Church  continued  very  feebly  several  years,  but 
eventually  many  members  Avere  secured.  From  these 
Bereans  three  other  Baptist    churches  have    arisen— 


204  EAllLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOIIK. 

"Sabiii  Church,"  King  street,  in  1834;  "Berean,"  1838; 
"Providence,"  1845;  with  a  number  of  members  dis- 
missed to  aid  in  founding  the  Welsh  and  the  Sixteenth 
Street  Churches.  In  the  year  1833,  some  three  hundred 
communicants  still  remained. 

The  Baptist  is  now  one  of  our  largest  denominations  ; 
and  there  are  a  number  of  other  Baptist  churches  in 
New  York  city  ;  but  as  these  are  not  directly  traceable 
to  the  Gold  street  or  first  congregation,  our  historical 
plan  does  not  embrace  them. 


EARLIEST  CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  205 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    MORAVIAN    CHURCH "  UNITAS     FRATRUm" ITS     ORIGIN COUNT 

ZINZENDORF MISSIONS — DAVID     BRUCE     SENT    TO     PREACH    IN    NEW 

YORK     AND      ON      LONG    AND      STATEN      ISLANDS BISHOP     SPANGEN- 

BERG's  VISIT CAPTAIN  GARRISON MISSION  COMMENCED   ON  STATEN 

ISLAND MINISTERS  THERE CEMETERY COMMODORE  VANDERBILt's 

FAMILY  VAULT MR.    BINNINGEr's     GRAVE CHURCH    BUILT,    1763 

CHURCH    RECORDS CAPTAIN    JACOBSEN    SHOT SAILS   A  MISSIONARY 

SHIP PASTORS MORAVIANS    IN    NEW    YORK,    1736 BISHOP    BOEH- 

LEr's     AND      ZINZENDORf's      VISIT PERSECUTIONS BISHOP      WATTI- 

VEl's    visit FULTON     STREET     CHURCH     BUILT,    1751 PASTORS    IN 

NEW      YORK BENJAMIN     MORTIMER,     WILLIAM     VANVLEEK,     AFTER- 
WARDS   BISHOP,    MR.    BIGLER. 

The  United  Brethren,  or  Uniias  Fratrum,  or  Moravi- 
ans, were  originally  Bohemian  and  Moravian  Christians, 
and,  persecuted  for  their  religious  opinions  and  non- con- 
formity in  their  native  lands,  founded  a  colony  under 
Count  Zinzendorf.  It  was  located  upon  an  estate  of  his 
in  1722,  at  Upper  Lusatia,  and  caUed  "Herrnhut,"  from 
its  situation  on  the  southern  declivity  of  a  hill. 

Count  Zinzendorf  had  long  entertained  the  idea  of 
constituting  a  Christian  community  on  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  i)rimitive  apostolic  congregations.  Leaving 
all  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  various  Protestant 
denominations  entirely  out  of  his  plan,  he  adopted  as 
articles  of  faith  those  fundamental  Scripture  truths 
alone  in  which  all  agreed.  In  the  year  1727  he  thus  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  present  society  of  the  United  Breth- 


208  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOKK. 

The  Moravian  preachers  became  acceptable  to  the 
people  of  the  island,  and  they  desired  the  establishment 
of  a  cliurch  among  them.  In  the  year  1762,  they  re- 
quested this  favor  from  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  at 
Bethlehem.  The  original  letter  is  still  preserved  among 
the  archives  at  Bethlehem:  "The  signers  request  that 
the  little  flock  here  might  be  remembered,  and  that  a 
brother  might  be  sent  hither  to  preach  the  Oosjoel,  and 
teach  the  little  lambs  which  had  been  baptized  by  the 
Brethren."  For  the  benefit  especially  of  old  Richmond 
County  readers,  we  add  the  names  signing  this  epistle : 
Richard  Connor,  Stej)hen  Martino,  Jr.,  Tunis  Egbert, 
Jacob  Vanderbilt,  John  Vanderbilt,  Aaron  Cortelyou, 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  Cornelius  Vandeventer,  Stephen 
Martino,  Mary  Stillwell,  Cornelius  Martino,  and  Peter 
Ferine.  Numerous  descendants  of  these  early  Mora- 
vians now  reside  near  the  present  beautiful  church,  and 
many  of  its  gravestones  bear  the  same  family  names. 
The  well-known  Commodore  Vanderbilt  has  here  erected 
a  very  costly  tomb,  where  the  ashes  of  his  venerable 
mother  repose,  and  where  he  himself  expects  to  be 
buried,  when  his  voyage  of  life  is  over.  We  have  often 
visited  this  sacred  spot,  and  strolled  thoughtfully  about 
its  heaped-up  old  graves.  Near  by  the  cemetery  just 
referred  to  is  a  beautiful  marble  tomb,  erected  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Binninger.  His  family  is  one  of  the  earli- 
est and  best-known  of  the  Moravians  in  our  city.  He  was 
a  pious  young  man,  and  died  in  the  Lord,  whilst  seeking 
health,  far  from  home,  in  sunny  Italy.  His  remains  were 
shipped  for  New  York,  the  vessel  wrecked  on  the  coast 
of  Spain,  and  all  on  board  lost,  it  is  said.     The  case, 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  209 

liOTvever,  with  the  dead  body,  floated  to  the  shore,  was 
saved,  and  reshipped  to  New  York,  and  buried  in  this 
beautiful  rural  spot,  resting  in  hope  until  the  last  trum- 
pet will  call  all  to  the  judgment.  This  burying-ground 
is  very  old,  as  it  was  used  long  before  the  Moravians 
came  to  the  island.  Part  of  the  lot  was  purchased  in 
1763,  for  twenty-five  pounds  ten  sliillings,  current 
money  of  the  province  of  JN'ew  York.  In  1860  its  area 
was  enlarged. 

On  the  7th  of  July,  1763,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Staten 
Island  Moravian  Church  was  laid,  tlie  Rev.  T.  Yarrel, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  New  York,  preaching  from 
Isaiah  xx^iii.  16:  "Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  founda- 
tion a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a 
sure  foundation."  The  Rev.  Hector  Gambold  was  the 
first  resident  Moravian  minister  of  this  congregation, 
arriving  in  the  following  August.  On  the  7th  of  De- 
cember the  church  was  consecrated,  Mr.  Yarrel  again 
preaching,  from  "We  preach  Christ  crucified"  (1  Co- 
rinthians i.  23). 

We  are  not  digressing,  as  Staten  Island  congregation 
appears  to  have  been  only  a  branch  of  the  Moravian  in 
New  York  until  some  years  after  this  period.  Its  pastor 
and  members  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  city  on  com- 
munion occasions,  there  to  celebrate  the  Lord' s  Supper. 
From  the  year  1769  to  1779,  the  official  journals  of  this 
church  have  been  lost.  After  1779,  liowever,  the  con- 
gregation communed  at  theii*  own  church,  when  they 
must  consequently  have  had  an  independent  formation. 
Scarcely  any  records  have  been  preserved  of  the  Staten 
Island  Church  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Some 
14 


210  EARLIEST   CHURCHES  IN  NEW   YORK. 

British  soldiers  forcibly  entered  tlie  parsonage  one  niglit, 
for  the  iDurpose  of  plunder,  and  did  much  damage.  On 
another  occasion,  they  endeavored  to  break  into  the 
house  of  Captain  Christian  Jacobsen.  Alarmed,  he 
went  to  the  door,  when  he  was  shot  by  one  of  the  party, 
and  soon  after  expired.  The  Captain  is  Avell  known  in 
Moravian  history,  as  commanding  the  ship  Irene,  after 
Captain  Garrison  had  retired  from  sea  life.  While  Jacob- 
sen  Avas  master,  his  vessel  was  captured  by  a  French 
privateer,  in  1757,  and  sent  to  the  cold  and  barren  Cape 
Breton.  On  the  12tli  of  January,  1758,  she  was  cast 
away.  Taking  to  their  boats,  the  crew,  thrown  upon  a 
desert  shore,  were  forced  to  work  their  way,  with  great 
toil  and  danger,  through  ice  and  snow,  until  they  reached 
Louisburg.  After  this,  Jacobsen  jDurchased  a  ship  in 
London,  which  he  sailed  until  he  built  a  new  one  at 
'New  York,  called  the  Hope,  and  she  was  used  by  the 
Moravians  in  their  passages  across  the  Atlantic. 

In  1784,  the  Rev.  James  Birkby  ministered  to  the 
Staten  Island  people.  During  1787,  the  Rev.  Frederick 
Moehring  arrived,  diligently  laboring  until  1793,  and 
James  Birkby  to  1797.  Moehring' s  diar}^  still  exists. 
At  the  commencement  of  his  ministry,  his  little  flock 
numbered  twenty-seven  communicants.  He  became 
very  intimate  with  the  excellent  Dr.  IMoore,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  frequently  visiting  the  sick  together. 
jVfoehring  died  in  1804,  the  year  after  he  left  Staten 
Island,  when  Dr.  Moore  preached  a  sermon  in  his 
memory,  at  his  own  parish  church,  St.  Andrew' s,  Rich- 
mond. He  said  that  he  had  been  a  spiritual  father  to 
him,  in  his  pious  advice  and  admonition. 


EAELIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  211 

During  the  first  half  century  of  tliis  Moravian  church, 
its  minister  received  no  fixed  salary,  tlie  i^eople  supply- 
ing him  Avith  provisions,  grain,  and  fuel,  &c.  About 
1798,  the  amount  was  fixed  at  twenty  pounds  cash,  with 
other  benefactions,  and  the  sum  was  afterwards  increased 
to  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  From  so  small  a  sup- 
port, the  ministers  family  often  needed  the  common 
necessaries  of  life  ;  but  Moravian  Brethren  are  well- 
known  self-denying  followers  of  their  Master.  The 
Rev.  N.  Brown  succeeded  Mr.  Moehring  in  1803,  con- 
tinuing until  he  ended  his  earthly  work,  1813.  Then 
came  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Bechler,  and  the  second  Sabbath 
after  his  arrival,  the  congregation  celebrated  its  semi- 
centenary,  October  10,  1813.  He  selected  for  his  text 
the  same  words  from  which  the  foundation  sermon  was 
delivered,  fifty  years  before:  "Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion 
for  a  foundation  a  stone,"  &c.  At  this  anniversary,  he 
stated  that  the  archives  of  the  church  were  defective, 
from  the  robbery  of  the  parsonage  and  its  papers  during 
the  Revolutionary  struggle.  ]Mr.  Becliler  remained, 
with  much  success,  until  1817,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  George  A.  Hartman.  He  was  consecrated 
bishop  in  1835,  and  retiring  to  Herrnhut,  Saxony,  he 
died  April  17,  1857,  aged  seventy-three  years.  Succeed- 
ing him,  came  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Hartman,  remaining 
twenty  years,  until  1837,  whose  memory  is  still  fragrant 
on  Staten  Island.  Then  followed  Ambrose  Rondthaler  ; 
in  1839,  the  Rev.  H.  Gt.  Clauder,  for  years  a  missionary 
among  the  Creek  Indians.  His  successor  was  Rev. 
Bernard  De  Schweinitz,  whose  death  occurred  July  20, 
1854,  while  on  a  visit  to  Salem,  North  Carolina,  to  cele- 


212  EARLIEST   CIIUPwCIIES   IN   NEW   YOKK. 

brate  a  family  reunion.  Rev.  A.  A.  Reinke  was  tlie 
next  pastor,  until  October,  1860.  After  this,  the  Rev. 
E.  T.  Senseman,  who,  in  September,  1862,  was  followed 
by  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Leibert,  the  present  beloved  pastor, 
to  whose  authentic  historical  address,  on  the  late  cen- 
tennial anniversar}'"  in  his  church,  we  are  indebted  for 
much  of  our  present  information.  From  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Moravian  Church  on  Stateh  Island  until  the 
present  time,  thirty-three  ministers  have  preached  here, 
twelve  hundred  and  forty  children  have  been  baptized, 
eight  hundred  and  seven  couples  married,  and  twelve 
Imndred  and  eight  burials  been  attended  by  the  pastors. 

Now,  we  consider  the  branch  of  tlie  Moravian  Cliurch 
in  New  York. 

The  Moravian  Brethren,  or  Uniias  Fratrum,  who 
emigrated  to  Georgia  in  1735,  became  acquainted  with 
Jacob  Boemper  in  New  York,  and  made  Boemper  their 
agent  for  the  purchase  and  forwarding  of  provisions, 
&c.  Boemper  was  a  pious  German,  and  associated  with 
a  small  circle  of  spiritually-minded  men  of  different  de- 
nominations, closely  united  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  love. 

Rev.  Augustus  Spangenberg  and  Bishop  David  Nitch- 
man,  passing  through  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1736, 
on  their  way  to  Pennsylvania,  were  hos];)itably  enter- 
tained by  Boemper,  and  became  personally  acquainted 
with  otlier  members  of  this  little  circle,  of  whom  the 
follo'V\  ing  are  mentioned  :  Jacob  Coelet,  Thomas  Noble, 
Richard  Waldron,  Samuel  Pells,  Jan  Van  Pelt,  Joris 
Brinkerhoff,  Cornelius  Parant,  and  Peter  Yenema. 

In  1739,  Rev.  Frederic  Martin,  Moravian  missionary 
on  the  Island  of  St.  Thomas,  spent  some  time  in  New 


EARLIEST   CHUKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  213 

York,  and  on  his  return  from  Pennsylvania  (wliere  a 
few  Moravians  were  settling),  lie  "became  intimate  with 
Thomas  Noble  and  others  above  mentioned.  While  in 
New  York,  Christian  Henry  Ranch,  the  famous  Mora- 
vian Indian  missionary,  arrived  from  Germany,  1739. 
Martin  met  him,  and  took  him  to  Thomas  Noble's 
house.  About  this  time,  a  "Pastoral  Letter"  from  the 
Church  Councils  at  Amsterdam,  against  the  Moravians, 
arrived.  The  clergy  were  thus  incited  to  j)reach  against 
the  "  Brethren,"  when  some  of  their  friends  became 
estranged.  The  deportment  of  Christian  Henry  Ranch, 
however,  went  far  towards  correcting  erroneous  impres- 
sions formed  of  the  Moravians  by  such  as  were  at  first 
influenced  by  this  puljoit  war  against  them. 

In  1741,  Bishop  Peter  Boehler  spent  a  short  time  in 
New  York,  while  on  his  way  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Europe.  He  organized  a  society  in  sjDiritual  connection 
with  the  Moravian  Church,  consisting  of  nine  ]oersons. 
The  following  belonged  to  this  earliest  society  :  Thomas 
Noble  and  wife,  Ismajah  Burnet,  Jane  Boelen,  Martha 
Bryant  (afterwards  Nyberg),  Helena  Gregg  (afterwards 
married  to  Rev.  Hector  Gambold,  one  of  the  first  Mora- 
vian ministers  of  the  New  York  congregation),  Eliza- 
beth Hume  (afterwards  Okelyn),  William  Edmonds, 
and  Mary  Wendower  (afterwards  Burnside).  Thomas 
Noble  and  William  Edmonds  were  appointed  laborers, 
or  ministers,  not  in  the  present  general  sense  of  the 
term,  but  in  its  literal  sense.  They  were  not  ordained 
preachers,  but  ministered  to  tlie  spiritual  wants  of  the 
society  to  the  best  of  their  ability.^' 

*  Rev.  Mr.  Leibert,  Statcu  Island. 


214  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   Ts^EW    YOllK. 

Bisliop  Boehler  was  the  first  Moravian  minister  who 
preached  a  sermon  at  New  York,  in  a  private  liouse, 
January,  1741. 

November,  1741,  Count  Zinzendorf  arrived  in  New 
York,  with  a  company  of  Moravians.  He  first  landed 
on  Long  IsLand,  and  went  to  tlie  house  of  Jacques  Cor- 
telyou,  a  man  of  some  note.  The  Count  came  to  New 
Yorlv,  December  2,  1741,  and  lodged  at  Thomas  Noble's 
house,  who  was  a  strict  Presbyterian  and  a  gentleman 
of  influence.  Zinzendorf  renews  or  perfects  the  organi- 
zation efiected  by  Boehler,  and  Jacques  Cortelyou  was 
appointed  lay  elder. 

Persecutions  became  quite  violent  from  this  time. 
Domine  Boel,  after  preaching  a  sermon  against  the  Mo- 
ravians, June  23,  1754,  announced  to  his  congregation 
that  he  would  give  them  another  sermon  on  the  same 
subject  the  next  Sunday.  But  he  died  that  week,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  proposed  sermon,  his  funeral  services 
were  held  ! 

As  early  as  the  spring  of  1743,  the  little  band  of  Mo- 
ravians suffered  some  religious  persecution.  Bishop 
Boehler  was  cited  to  appear  before  the  mayor  of  the 
city,  accused  of  no  crime  except  preaching  the  Gospel. 
Without  trial,  this  servant  of  God  was  ordered  to  leave 
New  York,  and  when  lie  asked  the  reason  for  this  hard 
sentence,  it  was  answered,  "Because  you  are  a  vaga- 
bond." The  bishop  was  a  learned  and  pious  man,  but 
meekly  obeying  tliis  arbitrary  sentence,  he  left,  and  re- 
mained temporarily  with  a  friend  on  Long  Island.  A 
law  had  even  been  passed,  but  not  ratified  by  the  Eng- 
lisli  Government,  forbidding  all  Moravian  ministers  to 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  215 

preach  for  one  year  ;  and  two  missionaries,  travelling 
through  the  province  of  New  York  to  the  Indians,  in 
1745,  were  seized  and  cast  into  prison.  These  Avere 
David  Zeisberger  and  Fredericli  Post,  and  arrested  at 
tlie  instigation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barclay,  the  Church  of 
England  minister  at  Albany.  They  were  accused  of 
being  French  spies — strange  suspicion  against  humble 
Moravian  brethren  !  But  they  were  found  innocent, 
after  strict  examination,  and  released. 

In  December,  1748,  Bishop  Johannes  de  Wattivel 
arrived  from  Euroj)e,  and  made  a  regular  organization  of 
the  church,  its  membership  numbering  less  than  one 
hundred.  They  met,  during  two  years,  for  worship,  in 
the  house  of  Mr.  Noble  ;  and,  in  1751,  purchased  two 
lots  of  ground  on  Fair  street,  now  Fulton,  where  they 
erected  a  small  frame  building.  Its  corner-stone  was 
laid  June  16, 1751,  by  Rev.  Owen  Rice,  and  the  sacred  edi- 
fice consecrated  by  Bishop  Spangenberg,  June  18,  1752. 

Moravian  ministers  who  earliest  labored  in  New  York, 
from  1742  to  1757  : 

1742.  David  Bruce. 

1743.  Peter  Boehler  (bishop). 
1743-1745.  Hector  Gambold. 

1745.  1746.  Jacob  Vetter. 

1746.  George  Neisser. 

1747.  Hector  Gambold  and  John  Wade. 

1748.  George  Neisser. 
1748-50.  James  Greening. 

1750-54.  Owen  Rice  and  Jasper  Payne. 
1754.  Abraham  Reinke,  Jasper  Payne,  and  Abraliam 
Rusmeyer. 


216  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

1755.  Henry  Beck  and  Richard  Utley. 

1756-57.  Jacob  Rogers. 

1757.  Valentine  Ilaidt. 

1757-65.  Thomas  Yarrel. 

1765-75.  G.  Neiser. 

1775.  Gustavus  Shewkirk.  He  ministered  for  a  short 
time,  the  Revolutionary  War  breaking  up  the  congre- 
gation, as  it  did  most  others  in  the  city. 

After  the  peace,  the  congregation  again  collected. 
The  Rev.  Ludolph  A.  Rnsmeyer  became  pastor,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James  Birkley  and  the  Rev. 
Godfrey  Peters,  who  died  here,  October,  1797.  He 
was  the  first  minister  who  had  finished  his  course  while 
in  the  service  of  this  congregation.  Next  followed  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Meder,  Bardill,  Monlthier,  successively, 
the  last  for  seven  years,  and  closing  his  ministry  Avitli 
the  year  1812. 

Then  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Mortimer,  who  had  been  a 
faithful  missionary  among  the  Indians,  took  this  pasto- 
ral office,  successfully  discharging  its  duties  for  seven- 
teen years,  nntil  his  Gospel  labors  ceased  by  death  in 
1829.  Thousands  of  NeAV  Yorkers  and  others  will  re- 
member, at  the  mention  of  his  name,  his  strikingly 
mild,  dignified,  and  venerable  appearance,  and  call  to 
mind  his  swe(^t  and  humble  piety  and  character.  When 
he  became  infirm,  a  year  before  his  death,  the  Rev. 
William  Henry  Van vleek  commenced  his  ministry  in  the 
Moravian  Church,  with  much  success,  continuing  it  until 
1836,  when  he  became  bishop.  The  Rev.  C.  F.  Kluger 
succeeded  him,  and,  in  1838,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bleck  became 
the  pastor,  Miio  hM''t  for  Salem,  North  Carolina,  1842, 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  217 

when  tlie  Rev.  David  Bigler  was  appointed  in  his 
place. 

The  okl  house  on  Fulton  street  was  sold,  and  the  Mo- 
ravian Brethren  now  occupy  a  new  and  beautiful  place 
of  worsliip  on  Houston  street,  their  only  one  in  our 
large  city.  We  call  the  former  the  old  house,  because, 
as  was  the  arrangement  with  the  earliest  Moravian 
churches,  the  minister's  residence  was  a  j)art  of  the 
sacred  edilice,  and  he  went  into  the  sacred  desk  directly 
from  liis  dwelling. 

We  liave  written  a  long  chapter  about  the  Moravian 
Church,  because  but  little,  comparatively,  is  known 
about  the  "Brethren  in  Unity."  They  seek  not  noto- 
riety, or  honor,  or  the  praise  of  men,  but  the  salvation 
of  souls.  They  "walk  by  the  same  rule,"  and  "mind 
the  same  thing."  In  principle,  they  have  made  St.  Au- 
gustine's motto  their  own — "In  essentials,  unity;  in 
non-essentials,  liberty  ;  in  all  things,  charity." 


218  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ORIGIN    OF    METHODISM CONDITION    OF    ENGLAND    WHEN    WESLEY    AP- 
PEARED  OPINIONS     OF    BISHOP    BURNET    AND    ARCHBISHOP    SECKER 

AND  BUTLER WESLEY  PREACHING  TO  THE  POOR  PALATINES  IN  IRE- 
LAND, 1750 PHILIP  EMBURY,  THE  FATHER  OF  AMERICAN  METHOD- 
ISM  IRISH    LAY  PREACHERS,  SWINDELLS PHILIP    GUIER WALSH 

SODTHEy's    OPINION    OF     HIM HIS     GREAT    LABOKS    AND     SUCCESS 

EMBURY    EMIGRATES     TO     NEW    YORK,    IVOO,    DELIVERING     HIS    LAST 

SERMON     IN     IRELAND      FROM      THE     SIDE      OF     THE      SHIP ANOTHER 

ARRIVAL,    IN    1760,    AT     NEW    YORK,    OF     IRISH     WESLEYANS PAUL 

RUCKLE,    JACOB    HECK,    AND    OTHERS. 

The  lamentation  of  Bishop  Burnet,  on  the  state  of  the 
Church  in  his  da}^,  has  often  been  quoted  :  "  I  am  now," 
he  says,  "in  the  seventieth  year  of  my  age,  and  as  I 
cannot  speak  long  in  the  world  in  any  sort,  so  I  cannot 
hope  for  a  more  solemn  occasion  than  this  of  speaking 
with  all  due  freedom,  both  to  the  present  and  to  the  suc- 
ceeding ages.  ...  I  cannot  look  on  without  hanging 
over  this  Church,  and,  by  consequence,  over  the  whole 
Reformation.  The  outward  state  of  things  is  black 
enough,  God  knows,  but  that  which  heightens  my  fears 
rises  chiefly  from  the  inward  state  into  which  we  are 
unhappUy  fallen."^'  Archbishop  Seeker,  at  the  same 
period,  says :  "In  this  we  cannot  be  mistaken,  that  an 
open  and  professed  disregard  is  become,  through  a  vari- 
ety of  unhappy  causes,  the  distinguishing  character  of 
the  present  age.     Such  are  the  dissoluteness  and  con- 

*  "Pastoral  Care." 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEAV   YORK.  219 

tempt  of  principle  in  tlie  higher  part  of  the  world,  and 
the  profligacy,  intemperance,  and  fearlessness  of  com- 
mitting crimes,  in  the  lower,  as  must,  if  this  torrent  of 
impiety  stop  not,  become  absolutely  fatal."  He  further 
asserts,  that  "Christianity  is  ridiculed  and  reviled  at 
with  very  little  reserve,  and  the  teachers  of  it  without 
any  at  all." 

This  sad  testimony  of  the  times,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, was  made  only  one  year  before  that  which  com- 
memorates the  epoch  of  Wesleyan  Methodism. 

About  this  time,  Butler  also  published  his  great  work, 
on  the  Analogy  between  Religion  and  the  Constitution 
and  Course  of  Nature,  as  some  check  to  the  infidelity  of 
that  age.  "It  has  come  to  pass,"  he  says,  "to  be  taken 
for  granted  that  Christianity  is  no  longer  a  subject  of 
inquiry,  but  that  it  is  now  at  length  discovered  to  be 
fictitious."  South ey  says:  "The  clergy  had  lost  that 
authority  by  which  many  almost  command  at  least  the 
appearance  of  respect."  In  the  great  majority  of  the 
clergy,  zeal  was  wanting.  Burnet,  in  another  place,  ob- 
serves :  "Our  clergy  had  less  authority,  and  were  under 
more  contempt,  than  those  of  any  other  Church  in  all 
Europe.  It  was  not  that  their  lives  were  scandalous, 
but  they  were  not  exemplary,  as  it  became  them  to  be  ; 
and  they  never  would  regain  the  influence  they  had 
lost  till  they  lived  better  and  labored  more." 

Such  was  the  moral  condition  of  Protestant  old  Eng- 
land when  Methodism  came  forth  from  the  walls  of 
Oxford,  not  to  revive  the  theological  contest  between 
Churchmen  and  Puritans,  but  simply  to  recall  the  masses 
to  their  Bible  and  their  prayers.     Wesley  formed  no 


22v0  EARLIEST  CIIUEOTIES   IN   ISTEW   YORK. 

creed  for  his  English  followers,  and  in  providing,  which 
was  absolutely  necessary,  an  organization  for  Methodism 
in  the  New  World,  where  the  system  was  destined  to 
have  its  widest  range,  he  abridged  the  "Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England,"  so  as  to  exclude  the  most  formida- 
ble of  modern  theological  controversies,  and  thus  enable 
both  Calvinists  and  Arminians  to  enter  its  communion  : 
he  prescribed  no  mode  of  baptism,  virtually  recognizing 
all  modes.  Some  sects  strive  to  sustain  their  spiritual 
life  by  their  orthodoxy.  Wesley  made  no  such  vain 
attempt,  and  Methodism  has  sustained  itself  for  more 
than  a  century,  by  caring  especially  for  its  spiritual 
life ;  and  it  has  had  no  outbreak  of  heresy,  notwithstand- 
ing the  myriads  of  untrained  minds  gathered  within  its 
communion.  In  this  resjDect,  no  other  religious  body  of 
modern  times  affords  such  an  example !  It  became  a 
revival  church  in  spirit,  and  a  missionary  one  from  its 
organization. 

Wherever  there  was  a  door  opened  to  ]3reach  Christ, 
there  John  Wesley  and  his  pious  itinerants  went.  As 
early  as  the  yenY  1765,  he  had  visited  the  settlements  of 
the  "Palatines,"  in  Ireland,  on  his  missionary  work. 
"Good  Queen  Anne,"  in  1710,  had  extended  her  hands 
of  pity  and  liindness  towards  these  persecuted  Lutlier- 
ans.  She  sent  a  fleet  to  Rotterdam,  and  conveyed  seven 
thousand  of  them  to  Protestant  England.  The  Govern- 
ment granted  twenty-four  tliousand  pounds  for  their  im- 
mediate relief,  and  Her  ]\Iajesty  assistc^l  three  or  four 
thousand  of  their  number  to  emigrate  to  America,  most 
of  these  settling  in  Pennsylvania  and  North  Carolina. 
Five  hundred  families  also  removed  from  Eno;land  to 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  221 

Ireland,  chiefly  locating  in  tlie  County  of  Limerick. 
Each  settler  was  allowed  eight  acres  of  land,  at  an  an- 
nual cost  of  five  shillings  an  acre,  which  the  Government 
agreed  to  -pay  for  twenty  years. 

Without  any  Gosj)el  minister,  these  Irish  Palatines 
greatly  neglected  religion,  but  as  soon  as  Wesley' s  itin- 
erants found,  them,  they  readily  embraced  the  truth, 
which  made  them  "free  indeed."  A  more  exemplary 
people  was  not  then  to  be  found  in  all  Ireland.  The 
vices  of  profanity,  drunkenness,  and  Sabbath-breaking, 
entirely  ceased,  and  no  ale-house  was  permitted  among 
them. 

Wesley  himself  visited  these  Palatine  settlements  as 
early  as  1750.  In  June,  1765,  he  writes:  "About  noon 
I  preached  at  Ballingran,  to  the  small  remains  of  the 
Palatines.  .  .  .  Part  had  gone  to  America."  Here 
Philip  Guier,  master  of  the  German  school,  united  with 
the  new  sect,  the  Methodists,  and  under  his  tuition 
Philip  Embury,  the  father  of  American  Methodism, 
commenced  his  education.  As  his  name  is  so  intimately 
connected  with  this  type  of  Christianity,  we  dwell  longer 
on  his  interesting  history. 

In  the  year  1749,  one  of  John  Wesley's  preachers 
lifted  up  his  voice  in  the  old  cit}"  of  Limerick.  This 
was  Robert  Swindells,  from  Dublin.  In  the  true  spuit 
of  Primitive  Methodism,  he  felt  that  the  whole  of  Ire- 
land was  his  parish.  It  was  on  the  17tli  day  of  March, 
"Saint  Patrick's;"  the  streets  were  crowded,  and 
among  the  visitors,  many  Palatines.  That  place  was 
intensely  Popish,  and  just  as  the  people  were  coming 
from    Mass,    Swindells,    with    characteristic  boldness, 


222  EARLIEST   CTIURCITES   IX   'NFA'S    YORK. 

commenced  singing  in  the  streets,  and  then  preached 
the  Gospel  truth  to  the  crowds,  from  "Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  liea^y  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  What  a  spectacle !  a  solitary,  humble 
Methodist  preacher,  without  money,  friend,  or  patron- 
age, standing  up  boldl}- on  "Saint  Patrick's  Daj^,"  to 
declare  Christ,  the  only  friend  of  sinners,  in  Poj)ish  Lim- 
erick, one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  ago  !  God  was  in 
the  word.  Amidst  this  street  congregation  there  was  a 
young  man  educated  for  a  Romish  priest,  Avhose  mind 
had  been  also  enlightened  by  plain,  honest,  praying 
Philip  Guier,  the  Ballingran  schoolmaster.  Seeking 
an  interview  with  Swindells,  he  abandoned  his  Roman- 
ism and  sins,  and,  instead  of  a  priest,  became  a  Metho- 
dist evangelist.  This  was  the  remarkable,  useful,  and 
zealous  Thomas  Walsh,  whose  name,  fragi'ant  with  so 
many  pious  associations,  still  lingers  as  a  household 
word  among  many  families  in  both  hemispheres. 

"One  of  the  few  immortal  Dames, 
That  were  not  bom  to  die." 

In  the  year  1750-52,  ]\Ir.  Wesley  visited  Limerick. 
Vast  crowds  came  to  hear  him  preach,  and  among  others, 
we  doubt  not,  was  Pliilip  Embury,  the  future  evangelist 
of  America.  Guier  became  the  first  lay-j)reacher  with 
the  Irish  Palatines,  and  to  this  day,  "  There  goes  Philip 
Guier,  wlio  drove  the  devil  out  of  Ballingran!"  is  the 
salutation  which  Romanists  use  as  the  Wesleyan  itiner- 
ant rides  past. 

Walsh  had  now  begun  to  preach  salvation  through 
faitli  in  Christ  alone  with  wonderful  power  and  success. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  223 

His  pcarents  were  stern  Roman  Catliolics,  and,  when  a 
cliild,  tliey  taught  him  the  Lord's  Prayer  with  "Ave 
Maria"  in  Irish,  his  native  tongue,  and  also  the  one 
hundred  and  nineteenth  Psahn  in  Latin.  At  a  later 
period,  Wesley  wrote  respecting  this  Irish  youth,  that 
he  was  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Bible  that, 
when  questioned  concerning  any  Hebrew  or  Greek 
word,  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament,  after  a  brief 
pause  he  would  tell  how  often  it  occurred,  and  its 
meaning  in  each  place.  Such  a  master  of  biblical 
knowledge  he  declared  he  never  saw  before  and  never 
expected  to  see  again.  When  he  was  converted,  he 
declared  that  no  saint  or  angel  was  ever  again  to  be 
invoked  by  him,  for  he  now  believed  that  "there  is  but 
one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus."  ISTo  man,  he  resolved,  should  be- 
guile him  into  a  voluntar}^  humility  in  worshipping 
either  saints  or  angels.  ■^'  From  this  time  to  his  death,  a 
more  saintly  life  cannot  be  found  in  the  records  of  popu- 
lar Protestant  piety.  If  he  had  become  a  ]3riest,  as  was 
early  intended,  with  such  devotion,  he  would  have  been 
canonized  ;  and  well  may  Robert  Southey  declare  that 
his  life  "might,  indeed,  almost  convince  a  Catholic  that 
saints  are  to  be  found  in  other  communions  as  well  as  in 
the  Church  of  Rome."  He  rose  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning  during  his  whole  religious  life,  to  study  the 
Bible,  often  reading  it  uj)on  his  knees.  His  memory 
was  a  complete  concordance,  and  no  Catholic  saint  ever 
pored  over  his  breviary  more  devoutly  or  diligently  than 
this  remarkable  man  did  over  the  original  Scriptures. 

*  Stevens's  History  of  ifethodism. 


224  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

He  went  like  a  ilame  of  fire  tlirougli  Ireland,  preacli- 
ing  two  or  three  times  a  day,  and  usually  in  tlie  open 
air.  Crowds  of  all  denominations  attended  his  ministra- 
tions, and  his  command  of  the  Irish  language  gave  him 
great  advantage  with  the  native  Papists.  They  flocked 
to  hear  him,  and  would  often  weep,  smiting  their  breasts, 
and  invoking  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  sobbing  voices, 
declared  themselves  ready  to  follow  tliis  new  saint  over 
the  world  !  One  of  liis  hearers  called  upon  Walsh  with 
money  saved  for  masses,  when  he  should  be  dead.  "No 
man,"  replied  the  preacher,  "can  forgive  your  sins. 
The  gift  of  God  cannot  be  purchased  with  money  ;  only 
the  blood  of  Christ  can  cleanse  from  sin."  "No  man, 
it  is  admitted,"  says  Southey,  "contributed  more  than 
Walsh  to  the  diffusion  of  Methodism  in  Ireland." 
During  nine  years  did  this  remarkable  minister  pursue 
his  tireless  course  of  doing  good,  until  his  final  triumph 
and  entrance  into  his  promised  and  everlasting  rewards. 
His  last  words  were :  "He  is  come!  He  is  come!  My 
beloved  is  mine  and  I  am  His! — ^His  forever!"  and 
died. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  fact  connected  with  this 
German  Palatine  colony  in  Ireland,  and  evangelized  by 
the  Methodist  itinerants,  was  not  conceived  at  the  time 
by  Mr.  AVesley ;  it  was  destined  to  introduce  Methodism 
into  the  New  World.  During  his  visit  to  these  Pala- 
tines, in  1752,  he  licensed  Philip  Embury,  one  of  these 
converted  German  Irislmien,  as  a  "local  preacher" 
among  them  ;  and  fourteen  years  afterwards  this  youug 
man  emigrated  to  New  York.  Here  he  ojiened  his  own 
hired  house,  a  humble  one-story  building,  for  divine 


EAIiLIEST  CHUKCHES   IN   NEW   YOKK.  225 

services  ;  preaching,  and  forming  the  first  Methodist 
society  in  America.  In  two  years  more  he  dedicated  the 
first  Methodist  chaj^el  in  America.  Thus  was  founded 
American  Methodism,  a  church,  as  many  assert,  the 
predominant  Protestant  "belief  of  the  New  World,  from 
Newfoundland  to  California.  * 

Embury  has  left  the  record  of  his  conversion,  written 
with  his  own  hand,  in  this  evangelical  language : 

"On  Christmas  Day,  being  Monday,  the  25th  December,  in  the  year  1752, 
the  Lord  shone  into  my  soul  by  a  glimpse  of  His  redeeming  love,  being  an 
earnest  of  my  redemption  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  over. 
Amen."  Philip  Embury." 

He  married  ^largaret  Switzer,  an  Irish  Palatine,  emi- 
grating to  America  in  1760,  with  his  wife,  two  or  three 
brothers,  and  their  families,  Paul  Heck,  wife  and  family, 
Valer  Fetle,  Peter  Switzer  (Mrs.  Embury's  brother), 
Philip  Morgan,  and  a  family  of  the  Dulmages.  He 
delivered  his  last  sermon  in  Ireland  from  the  side  of  the 
ship  in  which  he  embarked  for  America,  to  a  large  con- 
course, some  of  whom  came  sixteen  miles  to  hear  him. 
With  tears  and  uplifted,  praying  hands,  he  bade  them 
farewell,  arriving  at  New  York  August  10,  1760. 

During  the  year  1765,  another  vessel  reached  New 
Yorli  from  Ireland,  with  Paul  Ruckle  and  familj^,  Luke 
Rose,  Jacob  Heck,  Peter  Barkman,  and  Henry  Williams, 
with  their  families.  These  were  all  Palatines,  but  only 
a  few  of  them  "Wesleyans," — the  emigrants  intimate 
with  each  other.  Embury  preached  his  first  sermon  in 
his  own  house,  to  a  company  of  six  persons,  besides  his 
own  family. 
15 


22G  EAELIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

METHODIST    CIIUUCII,    CONTINUED CAPTAIN    AVEBB    APPEARS RIGGING- 
LOFT      OBTAINED    FOR    RELIGIOUS    MEETINGS JOHN    STREET    CHURCH 

BUILT,  1768,  THE    FIRST  METHODIST  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA SUBSCRIP- 
TIONS   TO    BUILD    THE    CHURCH    FROM    THE    VESTRY  AND    RECTORS    OF 

TRINITY   AND    OTHERS CAPTAIN  AVEBb's    LIFE BOARDMAN    AND  PIL- 

MORE,     THE     FIRST    WESLEYAN    PREACHERS    TO    AMERICA,   17G8 AS- 

BURY    AND    WRIGHT    FOLLOWED,   1771 EMBURy's    DEATH STRANGE 

SCENE    IN    JOHN    STREET    CHURCH    ON    A    WATCH-NIGHT AN    ENGLISH 

COLONEL      THE      CAUSE      OF      IT APOLOGY METHODIST      EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH     IN    THE    UNITKD     STATES     ORGANIZED,    1784-5 RAPID    AD- 
VANCE     SINCE OLD      JOHN      STREET      TAKEN      DOWN     AND      A     NEW 

CHURCH    BUILT     IN     ITS     PLACE CHURCH     LIBRARY SUMMERFIELd's 

CENOTAPH THIRD      CHURCH     ERECTED     ON      THE      SPOT      IN      1841 

FATHERS    OF     METHODIS-M      IN      NEW    YORK MR.     LUPTON     AND      HIS 

DESCENDANTS. 

About  tins  time,  a  singular  event  brought  this  little 
Christian  band  into  more  notoriety.  At  one  of  their  re- 
ligious meetings  a  military  officer,  in  full  uniform,  made 
his  appearance,  and  had  come  to  unite  in  their  devotions. 
This  was  Captain  Thomas  Webb,  of  the  British  army, 
who  had,  some  years  before,  embraced  Christianity 
under  John  Wesley's  preaching,  in  Bristol,  England, 
and  was  licensed  by  him  as  a  "local  preacher."  He 
now  be(;amo  one  of  the  principal  agents  to  establish 
Methodism  in  America.  A  rigging-loft  on  William 
street,  No.  120,  near  John,  next  was  tlu;  room  for 
the  meetings  of  the  infant  Metliodist  Society.  In  this 
humble    plac-c,    Philip    Embury    and    Captain    Webb 


The  Old  Eigging-Loft. 
First  place  of  Methodist  -worship  in  Now  York. 


EARLIEST   CIITTRCIIES   m  NEW   YORK.  227 

preached,  to  increasing  hearers,  Christ  and  Him  cruci- 
fied. In  the  changes  of  our  busy  city,  this  venerable 
building,  so  identified  with  earliest  Methodism  in  Amer- 
ica, remained  until  about  the  year  1855. 

"Old  John  Street  Church,"  as  it  was  called,  or  "Wes- 
ley Chapel,"  was  pext  built  and  consecrated,  October 
30th,  1768;  Mr.  Embury,  the  Palatine,  selecting  for 
his  text  on  the  occasion,  "Sow  to  yourselves  in  right- 
eousness ;  reap  in  mercy ;  break  up  your  fallow  ground, 
for  it  is  time  to  seek  the  Lord,  till  he  come  and  rain 
righteousness  upon  you."  Like  Paul,  the  tent-maker, 
"with  his  own  hands"  did  Mr.  Embury  work  as  a  car- 
penter on  this  sacred  edifice.  He  was  also  a  trustee  and 
the  treasurer  of  the  new  church. 

This  property  was  obtained  from  Mrs.  Barclay,  the 
widow  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  the  second  rector  of 
Trinity  Church.  I  have  before  me  a  copy  of  the  origi- 
nal subscribers  to  the  new  building.  They  are  two 
hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  and  the  list  is  a  great 
curiosity.  Captain  Webb's  is  the  first  and  largest  sub- 
scription, thirty  pounds;  the  next,  AVilliam  Lupton, 
twenty  pounds,  which  he  increased  to  tlnrty  afterwards. 
"Mr.  Wesley's  Prayer-Book, "  as  it  was  called,  was 
early  used  in  this  Methodist  Chapel.  It  has  his  auto- 
graph, and  the  book  now  belongs  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  John- 
son, the  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  Jamaica,  Long 
Island,  a  relative  of  Mr.  Lupton,  and  whose  name  he 
also  bears,  William  L. 

The  clergy  and  vestry  of  Trinity  Church  also  liberally 
aided  the  new  undertaking.  Dr.  Auchmuty  and  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Ogilvie  and  Inglis,  its  rectors,  all  making  bene- 


228  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

factions.  Indeed,  the  most  couspiciions  citizens  seem  to 
have  shared  in  th(^  pious  work,  for  among  them  we 
notice  Philip  and  Peter  Livingston,  Theodore  Van 
Wyck,  John  H.  Cruger,  James  Duane  (Judge),  Peter 
Van  Shaick,  LL.  D.,  Fredericlv  De  Peyster,  Andrew 
Hamersley,  James  De  Lancey,  Lieutenant-Governor  Ed- 
ward Laiglit,  David  Clarl-cson,  Gabriel  Ludlow,  Joseph 
Reade,  Nicholas  Stuyvesant,  Mary  Ten  Eyck,  Mrs. 
Lispenard,  &c.,  &c.  There  are  other  "honorable 
women,"  not  a  few,  on  the  subscription  list ;  and  a 
"  Rachel"  gave  nine  shillings,  and  "Margaret,"  seven 
shillings — unknown  on  earth,  their  names  doubtless  are 
written  in  the  heavenly  books.  They  were  likely  ' '  col- 
ored girls"  or  servants,  giving  their  mite,  which  was 
probably  the  most  liberal  of  the  whole. 

The  memory  of  Captain  Webb  should  be  preserved 
and  honored,  for  his  character  and  exertions,  with  those 
of  Mr.  Embury,  form  some  most  important  recollections 
of  earliest  Methodism  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  campaign  of  1758,  and  before  his  conversion, 
Captain  Webb  served  under  General  Wolfe.  He  was 
present  at  the  memorable  battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abra- 
ham, when  his  gallant  leader  lost  his  life,  and  he  himself 
received  two  wounds,  one  in  his  right  arm,  and  another 
wliich  deprived  him  of  his  right  eye.  Afterward  he 
returned  to  England,  professed  religion,  becoming  a  fol- 
lower of  Mr.  Wesley.  He  was  soon  appointed  barrack- 
master  at  Albany,  and  came  again  to  America.  When 
he  heard  of  the  newly  formed  Wesleyan  Society  in 
New  York,  he  hastened  to  their  assistance.  In  his  per- 
sonal appearance,  Caj)tain  Webb  united  a  portly  figure 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   Ts^EW   YORK.  229 

witli  a  fine  commanding  countenance,  wearing  over  his 
forehead  a  strip  of  bhick  ribbon  and  a  blind,  to  conceal 
his  wounded  eye.  This  description  is  in  perfect  keep- 
ing with  a  finely  engraved  portrait  of  him,  published  in 
London  in  1797,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  possession  of  the 
writer.  In  this  engraving,  his  right  hand  is  placed  on 
his  breast,  whilst  the  left  points  to  a  Bible,  from  which 
he  appears  to  be  discoursing,  as  it  lies  with  his  sword 
and  cap  before  him.  At  the  botton  of  the  likeness  is  the 
coat  of  arms  of  his  family,  with  this  motto:  "I  have 
fought  a  good  fight. ''  From  all  accounts,  he  was  a 
plain  and  very  energetic  speaker,  performing  his  reli- 
gious duties  without  the  fear  of  man.  Nor  were  his  pious 
labors,  with  those  of  Mr.  Embury,  unsuccessful.  The 
people  attended  in  crowds  to  hear  them,  until  the  Wes- 
ley ans  were  compelled  a  second  time  to  look  out  for  a 
larger  place  of  worship.  They  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  more  commodious  building,  about  sixty  feet  long  and 
eighteen  feet  broad,  which  had  been  erected  for  a  rig- 
ging-house. 

The  cut  is  a  very  correct  exterior  view  of  ' '  Old  John 
Street,"  as  the  first  church  was  called.  Its  length  was 
sixty  feet,  its  breadth  forty-two,  and  the  walls  were  built 
of  stone,  the  face  covered  over  Avith  a  blue  plaster,  ex- 
hibiting an  appearance  of  durability,  simplicity,  and 
plainness.  Entrances  to  the  galleries  were  subsequently 
added  on  each  side  of  the  door.  The  interior  was  equal- 
ly plain,  and  remained  many  years  in  an  unfinished 
state.  There  were  at  first  no  stairs  or  breastwork  to  the 
galleries,  and  the  hearers  ascended  by  a  ladder,  and 
listened  to  the  preacher  from  a  platform.     For  a  long 


230  EAELIEST  CHTJECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

wliile,  even  tbe  seats  on  the  lower  floor  had  no  backs. 
At  that  period  in  our  colonial  history,  no  public  religious 
services  could  be  performed  in  churches  except  such  as 
were  established  by  law.  Dissenters  were  therefore 
compelled  to  accommodate  their  places  of  worship  in 
some  way  to  meet  this  legal  difficulty,  which  was  avoid- 
ed b}^  attaching  a  fireplace  and  chimney  to  the  internal 
arrangements  of  Wesley  Chapel,  as  it  was  thus  con- 
sidered a  private  dwelling.  A  small  building  of  the 
antique  Dutch  style  stood  j)artly  in  front  of  the  church, 
and  became,  after  a  while,  the  parsonage.  The  sextons 
used  to  reside  in  its  basement.  Peter  Williams,  a  col- 
ored man,  and  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Church, 
served  in  this  office.  While  a  slave,  for  slavery  then 
existed  in  New  York,  he  purchased  his  freedom  from  his 
own  industry,  and  then  amassed  a  respectable  property 
by  diligent  labor.  He  lived  to  see  his  children  well 
educated,  and  one  son  was  for  years  a  useful  pastor  of 
a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  city.  The  old 
doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  has  long  since  left 
his  post,  and  entered  into  that  holy  temple  not  made 
witli  hands,  to  go  in  and  out  no  more  forever. 

Very  numerous  audiences  were  soon  attracted  to 
Wesley  Chapel,  "to  hear  the  word."  In  two  yesivs 
after  its  dedication,  the  congregation,  which  had  com- 
menced, three  years  before,  with  six  hearers,  had  in- 
creased to  a  thousand  and  over,  at  times  filling  the  open 
area  in  front  of  the  church.  Such  was  the  progress  of 
the  society,  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  strongly  solicited  to 
send  an  able  and  experienced  preacher  to  their  assist- 
ance.    In  the  letter  sent  to  England  with  the  request, 


EAHLIEST  CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  231 

the  members  used  the  foUoViug  strong  and  remarkable 
language :  "  With  respect  to  tlie  iDayment  of  the  preach- 
er's passage  over,  if  they  could  not  i)rocure  it,  we  would 
sell  our  coats  and  shirts  to  procure  it  for  them."  In 
answer  to  these  earnest  desires,  Messrs.  Boardman  and 
Pilmore  volunteered  to  be  the  first  Methodist  missionaries 
to  this  country.  They  arrived  in  1769,  and  were  the 
earliest  itinerant  Wesleyan  preachers  in  America.  They 
brought  with  them  fifty  pounds,  "  as  a  token  of  brotherly 
love,"  to  the  new  cliurch.  In  addition  to  these  two 
missionaries,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Asbury  and  Wright 
came  over  in  1771.  Captain  Webb  returned  in  the 
mean  time  to  England,  and  settled  at  Bristol,  where  he 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  leaving  this  last 
and  delightful  testimony  :  "I  know  I  am  happy  in  the 
Lord,  and  shall  be  with  Him,  and  that  is  all-sufficient." 
Thus  true  faith  has  her  crown  as  weU  as  her  cross. 

His  fellow-laborer  in  the  field  of  early  American 
Methodism,  Mr.  Embury,  retired  into  the  interior, 
where  he  closed  his  useful  life  in  the  spring  of  1775, 
without  a  stone  to  tell  where  he  lay.  His  grave  was 
found  in  1833,  when  his  bones  were  removed  to  a  neigh- 
boring burying-ground  at  Ash-grove,  and  here  they 
were  again  recommitted  to  tlieir  mother  earth,  with  suit- 
able religious  ceremonies.  A  plain  marble  tablet  has 
been  placed  over  his  remains,  with  this  inscription  : 

PHILIP   EMBURY, 

THE  EARLIEST  AlIEEICAN  MINISTER  OF  THE   M.   E.    CirURCU,    HERE   FOUND 
HIS   LAST   EARTHLY   RESTING-PLACE. 

"Precious  ia  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  sainta" 


232  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Born  in  Ireland,  an  emigrant  to  New  York,  Embury  was  the  first  to  gather 
a  little  class  in  that  city,  and  to  set  in  motion  a  train  of  measures  which  resulted 
in  the  founding  of  the  John  Street  Church,  the  cradle  of  American  Methodism, 
and  the  introduction  of  a  system  which  has  beautified  the  earth  with  .salvation, 
and  increased  the  joys  of  heaven. 

During  the  War  of  the  American  Revolution,  most  of 
the  churches  in  this  city  were  occupied  as  military  pris- 
ons or  hospitals.  The  Middle  Dutch  Chnrch,  now  the 
Post-office,  was  a  prison  and  charnel-house  to  hundreds. 
No  less  than  three  thousand  Americans  were  confined 
in  that  ancient  temple  of  the  Almighty.  Six  and  eight 
dead  hodies  might  be  seen  of  a  morning  conveyed  from 
this  sorrowful  abode.  Its  pews  were  consumed  for 
fuel,  and  the  place  was  linally  occupied  as  a  riding- 
school  for  the  British  cavalry.  Two  thousand  rebel 
prisoners,  so  called,  were  incarcerated  in  the  North 
Dutch  Church,  William  street.  The  Quaker  meeting- 
honse,  formerly  on  Pearl  street,  was  converted  into  a 
hospital.  Wesley  Chapel  shared  a  similar  fate,  a  regi- 
ment of  Americans  being  confined  here  for  several 
weeks.  The  small-pox  broke  out  among  them  with 
dreadful  fatality,  and  the  whole  corps,  in  consequence, 
soon  after  vacated  the  building.  An  old  Dutch  clergy- 
man, known  as  Dominie  Sampson,  occasionally  preached 
in  the  chapel  to  the  German  refugees. 

Religious  meetings  at  niglit  were  then  generally  for- 
bidden, but  allowed  in  the  Metliodist  church,  as  the 
British  imagined,  or  rathcu-  desired,  that  the  followers 
of  Wesley  should  favor  their  cause.  Still,  the  services 
were  sometimes  interrupted  and  disturbed  by  the  rude 
conduct  of  men  belonging  to  the  army.  They  would 
often  stand  in  tlie  aisles  with  their  caps  on  during  divine 


EARLIEST   CIIUF.CIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  233 

worship,  careless  and  inattentive.  On  one  occasion, 
before  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  they  sang  the 
national  song,  "God  save  the  King."  At  the  conclu- 
sion, the  society  immediately  began  and  sang  to  the 
same  air  those  beautiful  lines  of  Charles  Wesley : 

"  Come,  thou  Almighty  King, 
Help  us  thy  name  to  sing, 

Help  us  to  praise ! 
Father  all-glorious. 
O'er  all  victorious, 
Come  and  reign  over  us, 
*  Ancient  of  Day  si 

"  Jesus,  our  Lord,  arise, 
Scatter  our  enemies, 

And  make  them  fall  I 
Let  Thine  almighty  aid 
Oiir  sure  defence  be  made, 
Our  souls  on  Thee  be  stayed. 

Lord,  hear  our  call,"  &c. 

Upon  a  Christmas  eve,  when  the  members  had  assem- 
bled to  celebrate  the  advent  of  the  world' s  Redeemer, 
a  party  of  British  officers,  masked,  marched  into  the 
house  of  God.  One,  very  properly  personifying  their 
master,  appeared  with  cloven  feet  and  a  long,  forked 
tail.  The  devotions  of  course  ceased,  and  the  chief 
devil,  proceeding  up  the  aisle,  entered  the  altar.  As  he 
was  ascending  the  stairs  of  the  pulpit,  a  gentleman  pres- 
ent, with  his  cane,  knocked  off  His  Satanic  Majesty's 
ma^,  when,  lo  !  there  stood  a  well-known  British  colo- 
nel. He  was  immediately  seized,  and  detained  until  the 
city  guard  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  offender.  The 
congregation  retired,  and  the  entrances  of  the  church 
were  locked  upon  the  prisoner  for  additional  security. 


234  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

His  companions  outside  then  commenced  an  attack  nj)on 
the  doors  and  windows,  but  the  arrival  of  the  guard  put 
an  end  to  these  disgraceful  proceedings,  and  the  prisoner 
was  delivered  into  their  custody.  Tliis  attempt  to  dis- 
turb the  services  originated  at  the  play-house,  which  at 
tliat  time  occupied  a  spot  not  far  from  thc^  chapel,  where 
Thorburn's  seed-store  now  stands.  Tlie  British  ofncers 
were  often  actors,  and  doubtless  obtained  their  masks 
and  grotesque  dresses  from  this  theatrical  wardrobe. 
There  was,  however,  redeeming  virtue  enough  in  the 
British  authorities  to  rebuke  the  rioters,  and  the  devil- 
colonel  made  a  public  apology  for  his  offence.  To  atone 
for  what  had  been  done,  a  guard  of  soldiers  was  regu- 
larly stationed,  for  a  long  time  afterward,  at  the  door  of 
the  chapel,  to  preserve  order. 

A  state  of  war  is  always  inimical  to  the  advancement 
of  morals  and  religion  ;  and  during  the  seven  years 
while  the  foreign  foe  had  possession  of  New  York,  it 
was  a  season  of  sorrow  and  trial  to  the  Wesleyan  So- 
ciety. All  the  preachers  from  England,  except  Mr.  As- 
bury,  were  obliged  to  return  liome,  on  account  of  favor- 
ing the  British  king  and  cause.  Many  of  the  society 
removed  into  the  country,  and  those  who  remained  in 
the  city,  now  destitute  of  their  own  ministers,  would 
repair  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  on  Broadway,  to  receive  the 
sacraments  from  tlie  hands  of  an  Episcopalian  clergy- 
man. , 

The  glorious  tei'mination  of  the  severe  Revolutionary 
struggle  introduced  a  brighter  day  to  the  Church  of 
Christ.  Until  now,  Methodism  in  America  had  been  the 
same  as  Methodism  in  England.      In  its  objects,  doc- 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES  IN   NEW   YORK.  235 

trines,  and  moral  discipline,  it  remains  so  until  this 
hour  ;  but  Mr.  Wesley's  powers  over  the  American  So- 
cieties ceased  when  the  United  States  became  indepen- 
dent of  the  political  and  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the 
mother  country.  Accordingly,  in  the  year  1784-5,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  was 
organized. 

From  that  period,  the  march  of  Methodism  has  been 
rapid.  Previous  to  the  year  1817,  six  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Churches  had  been  erected  in  New  York.  Still 
more  room  was  needed,  especially  for  the  members  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  it  was  determined  to 
erect  a  new  and  large  church  upon  the  spot  where 
Wesley  Chapel  stood.  The  old  walls  were  accordingly 
demolished  on  the  13th  of  May,  1817,  tlie  Rev.  Daniel 
Ostrander  making  a  suitable  address  at  the  time,  and 
on  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  new  year,  January  4,  1818, 
the  new  church  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Immense  congregations 
attended  on  the  occasion,  by  estimation  not  less  than 
two  thousand.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Bangs,  Samuel  Merwin, 
and  Joshua  Soule,  now  bishop,  delivered  the  dedicatory 
sermons,  distinguished  for  most  impressive  eloquence, 
and  attended  with  unusual  pathos. 

The  new  church  was  one  of  the  most  commodious 
and  beautiful  in  the  city,  and  served  as  a  model  for 
many  throughout  the  country.  Its  walls  were  of  gran- 
ite, partly  built  from  the  materials  of  the  old  chapel, 
and  the  dimensions  were  sixty-two  by  eighty-seven 
feet.  The  cost  was  about  thirty  thousand  dollars.  It 
had  a  large  lecture-room,   and   here  was   deposited  a 


236  EAKLIEST   CHUKCHES   IN  NEW   YORK. 

valuable  library  for  the  use  of  the  congregation.  To 
the  credit  of  these  early  Methodists  it  should  be  men- 
tioned, that  this  collection  of  books  commenced  in  the 
year  1792,  and  was  formerly  located  in  the  old  parson- 
age. The  example  is  worthy  the  imitation  of  all  reli- 
gious societies.  Here,  too,  was  placed  the  old  clock 
of  Wesley  Chapel,  which  still  tells  the  hours  of  the 
sanctuary,  as  it  has  also  marked  the  flight  of  so  man}' 
annual  rounds  upon  that  consecrated  spot. 

There  was  a  beautiful  cenotaph  to  the  memory  of  the 
Rev.  John  Summerfield  placed  in  the  front  and  out- 
side wall  of  the  church.  He  was  President  of  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  and  its  managers 
erected  this  memorial  to  commemorate  his  virtues,  elo- 
quence, piety,  and  devotion  to  the  holy  cause.  The 
monument  is  made  of  finely  polished  black  marble,  in 
the  shape  of  a  cone.  An  urn  is  flxed  upon  a  j^edestal 
at  the  base,  with  a  few  volumes  of  books  on  either  side  ; 
and  drapery  hangs  in  graceful  folds  from  one  part  of 
the  urn,  while  to  the  right  of  it  there  is  a  scroll  lialf  un- 
rolled. The  folloAving  tribute,  from  the  j)en  of  Bishop 
Soule,  is  inscribed  u-pon  the  tablet  in  the  centre  of  the 
cenotaph : 

SACRED 

QTo  tt)c  JHtmors  of 
The  Rev.  John  SuiiiiEUFiELD,  A.  M. 

"  A  burning  and  a  shining  light." 

lie  commenced  his  ministerial  labors  in  the  Connection 

Of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  Ireland ; 

But  eniployed  the  last  four  years  of  his  life 

In  the  itinerant  ministry 

Of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  United  States. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW  YORK.  237 

His  mind  was  stored  with  the  treasures  of  science ; 

From  a  child  he  knew  tlie  Holy  Scriptures. 

Meekness  and  humility 

United  with  extraordinary  intellectual  powers 

Exhibited  in  his  character  a  model 

Of  Christian  and  ministerial  excellence. 

His  perception  of  truth  was  clear  and  comprehensive ; 

His  language  pure, 

And  his  actions  chaste  and  simple. 

The  learned  and  the  illiterate  attended  Ms  ministry 

"With  admiration, 

And  felt  that  his  preaching  was 

In  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power. 

Distinguished  by  the  patience  of  hope 

And  the  labor  of  love. 

He  finished  his  course  in  peace  and  triumph. 

Born  in  Preston,  England,  January  31st,  ITDS. 

Died  in  this  city,  June  13tii,  1825. 

This  monument  was  erected  by  the  Young  Men's  Missionary 
Society,  of  which  he  was  President. 

Tills  second  clinrcli  on  the  earliest  spot  of  American 
Methodism,  continued  to  be  used  for  its  sacred  purposes 
for  twenty-four  years  ;  then  it  was  taken  down,  and  the 
third,  which  is  the  present  edifice,  was  erected  in  1841. 
When  Wesley  Chapel  was  finished,  in  the  year  1768, 
the  city  of  New  York  did  not  extend  heyond  the  pres- 
ent Park.  St.  Paul's  Church  and  the  Brick  Chapel 
were  in  the  "fields,"  then  so  called.  Its  population  did 
not  quite  reach  twenty-two  thousand,  and  three  thou- 
sand of  these  were  colored.  Few  cities  of  the  world 
have  increased  more  rapidly.  In  less  than  three-quar- 
ters of  a  century  afterward,  its  inhabitants  numbered 
three  hundred  thousand.     The  lower  part  of  the  city 


238  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

liad  "become  the  business  section,  and  residences  were 
built  far  beyond  this  limit.  Many  new  Methodist 
churches  had  been  provided  to  meet  the  wants  of  this 
rapidly-growing  population. 

It  was  now  resolved  to  erect  a  smaller  chapel  on  the 
spot,  with  two  four- story  brick  houses,  one  on  each 
side,  as  a  source  of  income.  The  cut  is  a  very  excellent 
view  of  the  whole.  In  its  external  appearance,  the 
church  is  simple,  plain,  and  neat — the  inside  beautiful 
and  commodious,  with  a  pulpit  in  a  semicircular  recess  ; 
dimensions,  forty-two  feet  by  eighty.  The  basement  is 
above  ground  ;  it  is  an  admirable  room  for  religious 
meetings,  and  here  may  be  seen  the  only  relics  of  old 
John  Street  Church — its  venerable  clock  and  library. 
There  are  two  tablets  in  front,  with  these  inscriptions  : 

THIS   CUURCH, 
THE  FIRST  ERECTED   BY   THE  METHODIST   SOCIETY   IN   AMERICA, 

Was  BUILT,  17G8.     Rebuilt,  1817. 

"  According  to  this  time  it  sliall  be  said,  What  liath  God  wrought  I" 

Numbers  xxiii. 

THE  FIRST  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 

Rebuilt,  A.  D.  1841. 
"  Tliis  is  my  rest  forever ;  licre  will  I  dwell." — Psalms. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  and  worth  recording,  that 
although,  when  AVeslc}^  Chapel  was  iirst  founded,  its 
members  were  compelled  to  solicit  aid  from  Mr.  Wesley 
to  finish  it,  their  successors  own  the  present  beautiful 
place  of  worship.  Few  spots  have  been  thus  more  sig- 
nally blessed.  As  long  as  there  are  hearers  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  this  great  metropolis,  may  this  consecrated  ground 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  239 

be  devoted  to  tlie  preaching  of  a  pure,   earnest,   and 
evangelical  faith  ! 

Perhaps  something  should  be  said  about  the  fathers 
of  Methodism  in  iN'ew  York.  Among  the  first  trustees 
of  John  Street  Church  we  find  Captain  Thomas  Webb, 
who  was  the  largest  subscriber  to  the  building — thirty 
pounds  ;  William  Lupton,  who  gave  twenty  pounds, 
and  afterwards  added  ten  pounds  more.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant prince,  and  adopted  this  motto  ;  "  Tiie  church  first, 
and  then  my  family."  He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth, 
a  man  of  wealth  and  piety,  and  of  great  service  to  the 
infant  society.  He  died  in  1794,  and  was  buried  in  his 
own  vault  beneath  Old  John  Street  Church.  He  came 
to  America  in  1753,  a  quartermaster  under  George  II., 
and  belonged  to  the  same  regiment  with  Captain  AVebb. 
American  Methodism  is  much  indebted  to  tliese  commis- 
sioned pious  officers  of  the  British  army,  Mr.  Lupton 
married  a  daughter  of  Brant  Schuyler,  and  their  eldest 
son  became  a  minister  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 
Mrs.  Lupton  dying  in  1769,  he  then  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Roosevelt,  whose  first  husband  was  Dominie 
Frelinghuysen,  of  Albany,  and  the  second,  Peter 
Roosevelt.  He  was  a  member  of  John  Street  Church, 
but  removing  to  Long  Island,  where  there  was  no  so- 
ciety of  this  denomination,  he  became  an  Episcopalian, 
as  his  respectable  descendants  are  now.  Mr.  Lnpton's 
second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Lancaster  Syms,  a  vestry- 
man of  Trinity  Church.  Dr.  Ogilvie,  the  well-known 
rector  of  that  parish,  married  another  daughter  of  Mr. 
Syms. 

Mr.  Lupton' s  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  the  Rev. 


240  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

John  B.  Jolmson,  of  tlie  Reformed  Dutch  Church  ;  and 
a  daughter  of  hers,  Maria,  became  the  companion  of  the 
Rev.  E.  M.  Johnson,  Brooklyn.  William  Lupton  John- 
son, D.  D.,  of  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  named  after  his 
grandftither,  and  his  brothei',  the  Rev.  Samuel  Roose- 
velt Johnson,  D.  D.,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Semi- 
nary, New  York,  are  also  children  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Johnson.  How  remarkably  have  the  descendants  of 
William  Lupton,  of  old  John  Street  Methodist  Church, 
been  blessed ! 

Paul  Heck,  or  Hick,  Philip  J.  Arcularius,  Thomas 
Carpenter,  Abraham  Russel,  Israel  Disosway,  Joseph 
Smith,  Andrew  Mercien,  George  Suckley,  Stephen  Dan- 
do,  were  also  early  trustees  of  this  congregation,  and 
have  all  "died  in  the  faith."  Their  descendants,  num- 
bering hundreds,  are  among  our  best  citizens  in  Church 
and  State. 


EAELIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOIIK.  241 


CHAPTER   XXIL 

DESCRIPTION  OF  NEW  NETHERLAND,  BY  FATHER  ISAAC  JAQUES,  A 
JESUIT  MISSIONARY,  1664 HIS  JOURNEYS — -MURDERED  BY  THE  IN- 
DIANS  EARLIEST    CATHOLIC    FAMILIES    IN    NEW    YORK GOVERNOR 

DONGAN LAWS    AGAINST    THE    ROMAN    CATHOLICS NEGRO    PLOT 

CATHOLIC  PRIEST  OFFICIATING  IN  NEW  NETHERLAND— JAMES  II.,  ON 
THE  THRONE,  FAVORS  HIS  OWN  CREED DONGAN  RECALLED WIL- 
LIAM    AND     MARY     PROCLAIMED     KING     AND     QUEEN THE     ENGLISH 

CHURCH  BECOMES  THE  ESTABLISHED  ONE  IN  NEW  YORK PERSECU- 
TIONS  A  CONGREGATION  FORMED    IN    1783 ST.    PETEr's,   BARCLAY 

STREET,  BUILT  IN  1786 REV.  MR.  NUGENT  ITS  MINISTER HIS  SUC- 
CESSORS— ST.  Peter's  rebuilt  in  1836,  bishop  dubois  laying  the 

CORNER-STONE ST.    PATRICk's    FOLLOWED,   IN    1815 HERE    BISHOP 

hughes  RESIDED THE  CATHOLICS  PURCHASE  DR.  LYELl's  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH,  ANN    STREET DR.  McLEOd's,    CHAMBERS    STREET THE    OLD 

UNIVERSALIST,  ON  DUANE  STREET,  AND  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  ON  ASTOR 

PLACE UNIVERSALIST   CHURCH REV.  JOHN    MURRAY-THE    EARLIEST 

PREACHER A  SOCIETY  FORMED REV.   EDWARD    MITCHELL  BECOMES 

THEIR    MINISTER THEY    PURCHASE     A    CHURCH    ON    PEARL    STREET, 

AND  SOON  AFTER  ERECT  THE  BRICK  CHURCH  ON  DUANE  STREET,  NEA^ 

CHATHAM MR.     MITCHELL     CONTINUED     THEIR    MINISTER     UNTIL     HIS 

DEATH,     A     PERIOD     OF     FORTY     YEARS HIS     SUCCESSORS     IN     THE 

MINISTRY. 

One  of  tlie  earliest  notices  we  find  of  New  York  is, 
"A  Description  of  New  Netlierland,  in  1644,"  by  Fatlier 
Isaac  Jaques,  a  Jesuit  missionary.  He  says  :  "  No  re- 
ligion is  publicly  exercised  but  the  Calvinist,  and  orders 
are  to  admit  none  but  Calvinists ;  but  this  is  not  ob- 
served ;  for  there  are,  besides  Calvinists,  in  the  colony, 
16 


244  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

cise  of  its  religion.  By  a  law,  enacted  (1700)  in  the 
reign  of  AVilliani  III.,  every  Catholic  and  Jesuit  priest, 
who  Avould  come  voliintaril}"  into  the  colony,  should 
"be  condemned  to  death.  Thanks  to  more  noble  and 
Christian  feelings,  there  is  no  evidence  that  this  out- 
rageous statute  was  ever  enforced !  In  August,  1741, 
John  llry,  an  Englishman,  a  reputed  Catholic  priest, 
was  publicly  executed  in  the  city  ;  but  we  must  re- 
member that  he  was  indicted  for  being  concerned  in  the 
"Negro  Plot,"  a  supj)Osed  conspiracy  of  the  blacks, 
and  others,  to  burn  the  place  and  murder  its  inhabitants. 
Nor  is  there  any  evidence  that  the  law,  passed  against 
the  Catholics,  was  brought  into  view  at  all  in  this  case. 
Ilry  was  a  schoolmaster,  and  in  vain  did  the  poor  man 
declare  that  he  was  a  nonjuring  clergjauan  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  could  prove,  by  reliable  witnesses,  that 
he  never  associated  with  the  negroes.  He  was  con- 
demned and  hung  !     Infamous  law,  verdict,  and  act ! 

There  were  other  Roman  Catholic  clergymen  in  New 
York,  according  to  the  catalogue  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  It  records,  that  "Father  Thomas  Harvey  (Soci- 
ety of  Jesus),  a  native  of  London,  was  in  New  York 
from  1683  to  1690,  and  subsequently  in  1696,  the  interval 
being  spent  in  Maryland,  where  he  died  in  1796,  a)tat. 
eighty-four.  Father  Henry  Harrison,  Society  of  Jesus, 
was  in  New  York  in  168i),  and  returned  to  Ireland  in 
1690,  and  in  Maryland,  1697.  Father  Charles  Gage, 
Soinety  of  Jesus,  was  also  employed  there  in  1686  and 
1687."*  Gage  Avas  stationed,  an  old  account  says,  "at 
Norwich,  the  capital  of  Norfolk,  at  a  very  celebrated 

*  Doc.  Hist.,  iii.  110. 


EARLIEST  CIIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  245 

cliapel,  where  Fatlier  Charles  Gage  excited  a  wonderful 
sensation  by  his  sermons,  and  labored  so  zealously  in 
that  vineyard,  that  the  faithful  unanimously  addressed 
a  letter  of  thanks  to  the  Father  Provincial,  for  having 
provided  them  with  such  a  distinguished  preacher." 

Netherlands  became  a  British  province  under  the 
Duke  of  York,  in  the  year  1644.  He  was  a  zealous 
Roman  Catholic,  and  an  avowed  opponent  to  the  Pro- 
testant faith,  and  uiDon  his  accession  to  the  British 
throne,  as  the  royal  James  II.,  he  aroused  the  distrust 
of  the  American  colonists,  by  elevating  to  power  those 
of  his  own  persecuting  creed.  It  became,  very  naturally, 
his  settled  pnrjoose  to  convert  the  Indians,  and  encourage 
Catholicism  in  his  dominions.  Romanists  began  to  emi- 
grate rapidly,  and  the  Collector  of  Customs,  with  several 
officials,  were  avowed  Papists.  Many  of  the  citizens, 
especiall}"  the  Waldenses  and  Huguenots,  who  had  fled 
to  this  land  from  the  religious  persecutions  of  France, 
grew  jealous  of  the  Catholic  influence,  and  feared  its 
spread. 

Governor  Dongan,  although  a  Romanist,  exhibited 
great  religious  toleration ;  but  this  wise  and  judicious 
policy  displeasing  his  royal  master,  he  was  suddenly 
recalled  to  Europe.  Returning  afterwards,  he  settled 
on  his  "Manor,"  Staten  Island,  the  property  remaining 
many  years  in  the  possession  of  his  family. 

The  attempt  of  James  to  restore  the  Catholic  religion 
made  him  odious  to  the  British  people,  and  the  birth  of 
a  son,  in  the  year  1688,  destroyed  all  hope  of  a  Protest- 
ant succession.  But  the  mails  soon  brought  to  the 
American    colonists    cheerino;    intelligence.     AVilliam, 


246  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Prince  of  Orange,  wlio  had  married  Mary,  tlie  eldest 
daughter  of  King  James,  and  was  tlie  champion  of  Pro- 
testantism in  Europe,  invaded  England.  The  people 
everywhere  flocking  to  his  standard,  William  and  Mary 
were  proclaimed  King  and  Queen  of  England.  Poor, 
bigoted  James,  deserted  even  by  his  own  children, 
sought  refuge  in  benighted  Catholic  France  !  Thus  fare 
religious  tyrants.  These  good  tidings  reached  America 
in  1689,  causing  great  excitement,  and  AVilliam  and 
Mary  were  proclaimed  on  the  British  throne,  by  the 
flourish  of  trumpets  through  the  colonies.  The  English 
Church  now  became  established  in  our  land,  and,  like  all 
established  "National"  churches,  at  times  it  interfered 
with  the  precious  rights  of  conscience.  Our  Divine 
Master  teaches  a  different  lesson. 

Before  the  American  Revolution,  New  York  was 
the  depot  of  the  captures  by  the  British  cruisers.  In 
the  year  1778,  a  large  armed  French  prize- ship  arrived 
for  condemnation.  The  Rev.  Mr.  De  la  Motte,  an  Au- 
gustin  Catholic  priest,  Avas  her  chaplain,  and,  with  other 
officers,  was  allowed  liberty,  on  parole  of  honor.  His 
countrymen  solicited  religious  services  according  to  the 
forms  of  the  Romish  Church,  when  he  applied  for  the 
proper  permission  from  the  public  authorities.  But  tliis 
was  refused,  and  De  la  Motte,  not  understanding  tlie 
English  language,  imagined  that  he  had  obtained  his 
request.  Then  lie  commenced  the  services,  when  he 
was  arrested  and  closely  conflned  until  exchanged. 
This  exclusion  continued  as  long  as  the  British  laws 
prevailed,  and  no  Roman  Catholic  priest  was  permitted 
to  discliarge  the  duties  of  his  ofli.ce  in  the  colony  of 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  247 

New  York.  Our  JSTational  Independence  acknowledged, 
every  man,  thanks  be  to  God,  has  been  allowed  to  wor- 
ship Him  according  to  the  free  dictates  of  his  own  con- 
science. 

The  Roman  Catholics,  availing  themselves  of  this  com- 
mon privilege,  formed  a  congregation  in  New  York, 
November,  1783,  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Nugent.  It  is  believed  that  he  was  sent  here  by  the 
Bishop  of  Maryland.  Vauxhall  Garden  then  was  situa- 
ted on  the  margiti  of  the  North  River,  between  AVarren 
and  Chambers  streets.  Here  a  suitable  building  was 
erected  for  their  religious  services,  and  one  of  the  most 
active  men  in  its  introduction  was  Sieur  de  St.  Jean  de 
Crevecoux,  French  consul  for  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
and  Connecticut.  Himself,  with  Jose  Roix  Silva,  James 
Stewart,  and  Henry  Dufflin,  became  incorporated,  June 
11,  1785,  by  the  name  of  the  "Trustees  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York."  This  place 
not  being  well  suited  to  its  religious  purposes,  an  appli- 
cation was  made  for  the  use  of  the  "Exchange,"  then 
a  building  at  the  foot  of  Broad  street,  and  occupied  as  a 
court-room.  But  failing  in  this  attempt,  measures  were 
taken  to  erect  a  new  church  on  the  corner  of  Church  and 
Barclay  streets.  It  was  a  brick  edifice,  forty-eight  feet 
by  eighty- one  in  size,  and  finished  far  enough  to  have 
Mass  celebrated  for  the  first  time  on  November  4,  1786. 
On  this  occasion  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nugent,  the  i3astor,  con- 
ducted the  services,  assisted  by  the  chaplain  of  the 
Spanish  ambassador  and  the  Rev.  Jose  Plielan.  In  the 
following  spring  its  name  became  "  St.  Peter's  Church." 

Mr.  Nugent  officiated  here  until  1788,  when  the  Rev. 


248  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IX   NEW  YORK. 

William  O'Brien  succeeded  him  in  the  priesthood,  and 
continued  to  the  day  of  his  death,  in  the  year  1816. 
Next  came  in  the  sacred  office  John  Power,  D.  D.,  with 
the  Rev.  Charles  C.  Pise,  D.  D.,  as  colleague. 

From  the  increasing  congregation,  it  became  necessary 
to  rebuild  "St.  Peter's,"  when  it  was  taken  down  in 
1836,  and  a  most  substantial  stone  edifice  erected  in  its 
place.  Bishop  Du  Bois  laid  the  corner-stone,  October 
26, 1836,  and  during  the  following  September  public  ser- 
vices commenced  in  the  basement,  and  Bishop  Hughes 
consecrated  the  new  building  February  25,  1838. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  "  St.  Peter's,"  in  Barclay 
street,  was  the  only  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  New 
York  city,  its  sacred  aisles  often  overcrowded,  and  its 
worshippers  at  times  occupying  the  public  street  in 
front.     This  sight  we  have  often  witnessed. 

ST.  PATRICK'S   CATITEDEAL. 

To  relieve  St.  Peter's,  and  accommodate  the  rapidly 
increasing  Roman  Catholic  denomination,  ' '  St.  Patrick' s 
Cathedral"  was  founded,  in  the  year  1815.  It  was  a 
very  spacious  stone  edifice,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
long  and  eighty  \vide,  on  the  corner  of  Mott  and  Prince 
streets,  and  enlarged  a  few  years  afterwards  by  the  addi- 
tion of  thirty-six  feet  to  its  length.  Although  it  has  no 
galleries,  except  the  "organ-loft,"  two  thousand  persons 
can  be  accommodated  within  its  spacious  walls  and 
pews.  "St.  Patrick's  Cathedral"  is  considered  the  seat 
of  the  Episcopate  in  this  Diocese,  and  here  then  resided 
BisliDps  Hughes  and  IMcCloskey,  with  their  subordinate 


EARLIEST   CntJRCIIES   IT^    K^EW    YORK.  249 

clergy.  After  this  period,  a  number  of  new  Roman 
Catliolic  congregations  sprang  up  in  various  sections  of 
the  city.  Some  old  churches  of  the  other  denominations 
were  purchased  by  the  Catholics  for  their  religious  pur- 
poses. In  1826  they  thus  became  owners  of  the  Episco- 
pal church  in  Ann  street,  once  Dr.  Ly ell's.  The  Rev. 
Felix  Varela,  from  Spain,  was  priest ;  and  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1834,  when  two  new  churches  followed 
— the  one  on  James  street,  1835,  continuing  the  legal 
title  of  "Christ  Church,"  and  the  other,  purchased  in 
1836,  the  "Reformed  Presbyterian"  house  of  worship 
on  Chambers,  calling  it  the  "Church  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion."    Dr.  Varela  continued  this  pastoral  charge. 

The  Catholics  also  purchased  the  old  Universalist 
churcli  in  Duane,  near  Chatham,  naming  it  "St.  An- 
drew's," and  at  the  time  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
Rev.  John  Maginnis.  So  also  passed  away  the  Pres- 
byterian church  on  Astor  Place,  formerly  Dr.  Mason' s, 
in  Murray  street.  What  a  comment  on  the  changes  of 
our  ever-changing  city  !  The  materials  of  the  old  church 
"down  town"  were  brought  to  this  si3ot  and  rebuilt  in 
1842.  Tliose  venerable  walls,  which  so  long  resounded 
with  the  impressive,  truthful  apjieals  of  Dr.  Mason,  the 
most  eloquent  preacher  in  his  day,  now  witness  the 
Mass  and  tlie  dull  monotonies  of  Romanism  ! 

UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH— (1796). 

Among  the  old  churches  of  New  York  must  be  ranked 
the  "Universalist."  At  an  early  period,  the  Rev.  John 
Murray  and  other  preachers  of  this  faitli  occasionally 
visited  our  city  and  held  religious  meetings.     After  sev- 


250  EAr.LIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOnK. 

eral  years,  three  prominent  members  of  the  John  Street 
Methodist  Society  embraced  the  new  doctrine  of  a  lim- 
ited future  punishment,  with  tlie  final  salvation  of  all 
men.  On  account  of  these  opinions  they  Vvithdrew  from 
that  congregation  in  April,  1796,  and  during  the  next 
month,  with  several  others,  fourteen  in  all,  formed  the 
"Society  of  United  Christian  Friends  in  the  city  of  New 
York."  This  society,  at  first,  held  their  religious  meet- 
ings in  a  private  house,  but,  their  members  increasing,  a 
small  edifice  was  erected  on  Vandewater  street,  near 
Frankfort.  For  some  seven  years  tliey  conducted  their 
meetings  among  themselves,  using  their  own  gifts.  Mr. 
Mitchell  was  an  Irishman,  and  a  man  of  mucli  natural 
eloquence,  and  was  ordained  their  preacher,  July  18, 
1803.  The  society  still  enlarging,  the  members  i^ur- 
chased  a  house  of  worshij)  erected  on  Pearl,  between 
Chatham  and  Cross  streets.  In  the  spring  of  1810, 
Mr.  Mitchell  received  an  invitation  to  preacli  in  Bos- 
ton, as  colleague  with  the  Rev.  John  Murray,  which 
he  accepted.  Recalled,  however,  to  New  York,  he 
returned,  in  the  year  1811,  to  liis  former  flock.  Soon  a 
new  and  larger  house  was  required,  when  a  neat  and 
substantial  brick  church  was  built,  on  the  corner  of 
Duane  and  Augustus  streets,  at  a  cost  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Mitchell  remained  faitliful  in, 
tliis  pastoral  relation  until  his  deatli,  in  the  year  1834, 
having  been  connected  with  the  Universalist  Society  for 
a  period  of  forty  years.  Mr.  Brouwer  and  Mr.  Snow, 
however,  the  other  founders  of  the  body,  returned  in 
after  years  to  their  old  Methodist  fold  in  John  street, 
both  reaching  well-known  honorable  old  ages. 


EARLIEST   CIIURCnES   IN   NEW   YORK.  251 

After  the  death  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Mitchell,  Mr.  Edward 
Cook  took  charge  of  the  society  for  a  year,  and  then  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Pickering,  during  two.  By  this  time,  tlie  con- 
gregation considerably  reduced  and  otliers  established, 
in  1837  they  rented  their  house  of  worship  to  the  "  West 
Baptist  Church,"  and  retired  to  a  public  hall  on  Forsytli 
street.  Subsequently  the  place  was  sold  to  the  Roman 
CathoUcs,  Yy^ho  have  greatly  beautified  it  and  continue 
their  worship  there.  After  this,  the  "Society  of  United 
Christian  Friends,"  or  the  "First  Universalist Church," 
ceased  to  assemble  for  public  worship.  Several  other 
Universalist  churches,  however,  sprang  up  in  various 
sections  of  the  city. 


252  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

HUGUENOTS    AMONG     THE      EARLIEST     EMIGRANTS    TO    AMERICA  —  THEIR 

FIRST      MINISTERS EDICT      OF      NANTES HENRY      IV.  —  FALL      OF 

ROCHELLE EDICT    REVOKED EMIGRATION    OF    THE    HUGUENOTS 

ADMIRAL    COLIGNY  (1555) FRENCH    PROTESTANTS    REACH    CHARLES- 
TON,   BOSTON,    AND     NEW    ROCHELLE REV.    DANIEL    BONDET NEW 

PALTZ    (1677) WALLOON    CHURCHES STATEN    ISLAND. 

Among  the  earliest  emigrants  to  America  were  the 
Huguenots,  or  Frencli  Protestants.  The  sacred  rights 
of  conscience  brouglit  them  here,  and  they  brought  their 
ministers  of  rehgion,  a  pure  faith,  and  their  Bibles  with 
them.  What  greater  treasures  could  have  emigrated? 
We  devote  a  chapter  or  more  to  the  history  of  their 
earliest  preachers  in  America,  as  very  little  is  com- 
paratively known  of  these  excellent,  self-denying  Chris- 
tian missionaries  to  our  land.  The  famous  Edict  of 
Nantes,  to  speak  accurately,  was  a  new  confirmation 
of  former  solemn  treaties  between  the  French  Gov- 
ernment and  the  Huguenots,  or  French  Protestants. 
It  was,  in  fact,  a  ro3^al  act  of  indemnity  for  all  past 
offences.  From  the  rolls  of  the  superior  courts  th(^  ver- 
dicts against  the  "Reformed"  were  erased,  and  to  these 
pious  Frenchmen  unlimited  liberty  of  conscience  was 
recognized  as  a  rigid.  This  important  "  Edict"  marked 
for  France  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  true 
commencement  of  modern  times.     The  document  itself 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  253 

was  sealed  with  the  great  seal  of  green  wax,  to  testify 
its  perjDetual,  irrevocable  character.  Henry  IV.,  in  sign- 
ing it,  triumphed  completely  over  the  usages  of  the 
"Middle  Ages,"  whilst  the  illustrious  monarch  washed 
nothing  less  than  to  grant  the  "  Reformed"  all  the  civil 
and  religious  rights  which  their  enemies  had  refused  them. 

France  now,  for  the  first  time,  raised  herself  above 
religious  parties.  Still,  such  a  new  state  policy  did  not 
fail  to  arouse  the  clamors  of  the  violent,  with  the  hatred  of 
the  factious.  Henry,  the  sovereign,  however,  remained 
firm.  ' '  I  have  enacted  the  Edict, ' '  he  said  to  the  I^arlia- 
ment  of  Paris;  "I  wish  it  to  be  observed.  This  must 
serve  as  the  reason  why  :  I  am  king  ;  I  speak  to  you  as 
king.  I  will  be  obeyed."  Royal  language  this.  And 
to  the  clergy  he  added  :  "Thy  predecessors  have  given 
you  good  words,  but  I,  with  my  gray  jacket,— I  will  give 
you  good  deeds.  I  am  all  gray  on  the  outside,  but  I  am 
all  gold  within. ' '  Honored  be  the  memory  of  Henry  IV. 
for  such  noble  and  generous  sentiments  ! 

During  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  more 
than  eight  hundred  Refonned  Churches  could  be 
counted  in  France,  with  sixty-two  Conferences.  Such 
was  the  prosperity  of  the  Huguenot,  Protestant,  or 
Evangelical  party  in  that  vast  kingdom  until  the  fall  of 
brave  Rochelle,  then  emphatically  called  the  "Citadel 
of  Reform;"  and  this  great  misfortune  terminated  the 
long  religious  wars  of  France. 

But,  strange  and  wonderful  to  relate,  amidst  all  this 
national  religious  prosperity  and  happiness,  France 
again  was  to  appear  before  the  world  the  persecutor  of 
lier  virtuous  and  religious  citizens— the  fiital  destroyer 


254  EARLIEST   CIIUIICIIES   I]^   NEW  YORK. 

of  her  own  best  interests.  On  the  22d  October,  1685, 
the  famous  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked  ;  in  a  word, 
Protestant  worship  was  entirely  abolished,  under  the 
penalty  of  arrest,  with  the  confiscation  of  goods.  In  a 
fortnight.  Huguenot  ministers  were  ordered  to  quit  the 
kingdom.  Protestant  schools  were  closed,  and  the 
laity  forbidden  to  follow  their  pastors  under  severe 
and  fatal  penalties.  But,  in  spite  of  all  these  enact- 
ments and  persecutions,  tlie  Huguenots  began  to  leave 
France  by  tens  of  thousands.  It  is  impossible,  in  our 
day,  \o  ascertain  the  correct  amount  of  this  emigration. 
But,  assuming  that  one  hundred  thousand  Protestants 
Avere  distributed  among  twenty  millions  of  Roman 
Catholics,  we  think  it  safe  to  calculate  that  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  thousand,  during 
fifteen  years,  exj^atriated  themselves  from  France.  Sis- 
mondi  estimates  tli(4r  number  at  three  or  four  hundred 
thousand. 

Reacliiiig  London,  Amsterdam,  and  Berlin,  these 
French  refugees  were  received  with  open  arms  and 
purses ;  and  thus  Germany,  Switzerland,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Russia,  Prussia,  Holland,  and  America,  all 
wore  profited  by  this  wholesale  proscrij)tion  of  perse- 
cuted pious  Frenchmen.  All  agree  that,  wherever  they 
went,  tluy  introduced  the  industry  and  arts  by  which 
they  had  enriclied  their  own  native  land,  thus  abun- 
dantly repaying  the  kindness  and  hospitality  of  those 
countries  Avhich  afforded  them  that  saf(}  asylum  cruelly 
denied  them  in  their  own. 

Tliis  bird's-eye  view  of  the  French  "Huguenots," 
"Protestants,"    or   "Refugees,"   and    their  expulsion 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  255 

from  France,  we  have  taken  for  a  better  understanding 
of  our  present  subject ;  at  tliis  period  there  is  increased 
attention  to  historical  research,  and  we  gladly  contribute 
our  mite  to  the  important  cause. 

The  brave  Admiral  Coligny  first  conceived  the  plan 
of  a  colony  in  America,  for  the  safety  of  his  French 
persecuted  Huguenot  brethren.  It  was  undertaken  as 
early  as  the  year  1555,  but  failed ;  again  attempted  in 
1562,  and  alike  unsuccessful.  But  a  century  afterwards, 
Protestant  England  took  up  the  generous  plans  of  the 
pious  old  Admiral,  and  with  success.  That  nation  then 
possessed  twelve  colonies  in  North  America,  and,  when 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked,  resolved  here  to  offer 
safe  homes  to  the  persecuted  French  Protestants. 

Even  before  the  Revocation,  as  early  as  1625,  some 
"refugee"  fiunilies  reached  the  settlement  of  New 
Amsterdam.  In  1663,  distribution  of  lands  was  made 
in  Charleston  to  the  Frenchmen,  Richard  Batin,  Jacques 
Jones,  and  Richard  Deyos,  who  were  put  in  possession 
of  freeholders'  rights,  and  placed  on  a  footing  with  the 
English  colony.'^  Like  concessions  were  made  to  other 
Huguenots.  During  1679,  Charles  II.  ordered  two  ves- 
sels to  transport,  at  his  own  expense,  French  Protest- 
ants to  Carolina,  and  in  the  next  year  some  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  more  selected  this  region  for  their 
homes.  About  the  same  period,  others  emigrated  to 
Boston,  where  they  erected  a  church  in  1686.  Their 
pastor  was  a  refugee  minister,  named  M.  Lawrie,  who 
was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Bondet,  A.  M.  We 
shall  learn  more  of  this  early  missionary  at  New  Ro- 

*  Weiss's  Hugnonots. 


256  EAIiLn-lST   CIIUKCHES   IIS"   NEW   YOEK. 

chelle.  New  Oxford,  near  Boston,  was  the  Frencli 
colony,  and  in  1GS6  it  received  from  Massachusetts  the 
liberal  benefaction  of  eleven  thousand  acres  of  lands. 

A  large  body  of  the  Huguenots  went  to  Ulster,  New 
York,  a  region,  like  their  own  native  land,  celebrated 
for  its  fertility  and  great  natural  beauties.  New  Paltz 
was  settled  in  1677,  and  for  the  information  of  many 
readers,  we  insert  the  original  purchasers  :  Louis  Du- 
bois ;  Christian  Dian,  since  Walter  Deyo ;  xlbrahara  As- 
brouccf,  now  spelled  Hasbrouck ;  Andrew  Le  Fever, 
often  Le  Febre  and  Le  Febvre  ;  John  Brook,  said  to  have 
been  changed  into  Hasbrouck  ;  Peter  Dian  or  Deyo  ; 
Louis  Bevier  ;  Anthony  Crispell ;  Abraham  Dubois  ; 
Hugo  Frier  ;  Isaac  Dubois  ;  Lemon  Le  Fever. 

A  copy  of  this  ancient  agreement  with  the  Indians 
still  exists,  and  the  curious  antiquarian  may  find  it 
among  the  State  Records  at  Albany.  It  is  a  very  sin- 
gular document,  with  the  signatures  of  both  parties  ;  the 
patentees  written  in  the  antique  French  character,  Avith 
the  Indian  hieroglyphic  marks.  A  few  "  Indian  goods," 
kettles,  axes,  beads,  bars  of  lead,  jDOwder,  blankets, 
needles,  twine,  awls,  with  a  clean  pipe,  were  the  insig- 
nificant articles  given  for  these  lands,  now  proverbially 
rich,  and  worth  millions  of  dollars.  This  treaty  was 
eventually  executed  on  the  20th  of  May,  1677. 

During  the  last  twenty  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  Huguenot  emigration  into  Holland  became  a 
political  event,  and  the  first  bloody  "  Dragoonade"  gave 
the  signal  in  1681.  Holland,  glorious  Protestant  Hol- 
land !  of  all  lands  received  most  of  the  French  Refugees. 
Bayle  called  it  "Tlie  grand  ark  of  the  refugees."     No 


EARLIEST   CUUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  257 

documents  exist  by  whicli  their  numbers  can  be  coiTectly 
computed,  but  tliey  have  been  estimated  by  historians 
from  lifty-five  to  seventy-five  thousand  souls.  The 
greatest  numbers  were  to  be  found  at  Amsterdam,  Rot- 
terdam, and  the  Hague.  In  1680,  there  were  not  less 
than  sixteen  French  pastors  to  the  Walloon  churches  at 
Amsterdam.  The  Walloons  and  the  Huguenots,  in  fact, 
were  the  same  Protestant  people — oppressed  and  perse- 
cuted Frenchmen.  Of  the  former,  as  early  as  the  year 
1622,  several  families  from  the  frontier,  between  Belgium 
and  France,  tui-ned  their  attention  to  America.  They 
applied  to  Sir  Dudley  Carleton  for  permission  to  settle 
in  the  colony  of  Virginia,  with  the  privilege  of  electing 
their  own  magistrates.  But  the  Virginia  Company 
seemed  to  have  imagined  this  request  and  privilege  too 
republican.  Hence  many  Walloons  looked  toward  New 
Netheiiand,  where  some  of  their  number  arrived  in 
1624,  with  the  Dutch  Director  Minuit. 

These  French  emigrants  first  settled  on  Staten  Island, 
but  afterward  removed  to  "  Wahle  Botch,"  or  the  Bay 
of  Foreigners,  since  anglicized  or  corrupted  into  Walla- 
bout.  To  the  Chamber  of  Amsterdam  was  committed 
the  superintendence  of  this  new  and  extensive  country, 
and  this  body,  in  1623,  had  dispatched  an  expedition  in 
the  "New Netherlands,"  " whereof  Cornelius  Jacobs,  of 
Hoorn,  was  skipper,  with  thirty  families,  worth}^  Wal- 
loons, to  plant  a  colony  there."  They  arrived  in  the 
beginning  of  May,  1623.  In  1625,  three  ships  and  a 
yacht  reached  Manhattan,  with  more  families,  farming 
implements,  and  one  hundred  and  three  head  of  cattle. 
These  were  the  earliest  Huguenot  settlers  of  which  we 
17 


258  EARLIEST   CHTTRCnES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

have  found  any  authentic  records.  As  yet  there  were 
no  clergymen  in  the  colony  of  New  Netherlands,  but 
two  visitors  of  the  sick,  as  they  w^ere  called  in  the  Dutch 
settlements,  were  a^Dpointed  for  their  important  and  pious 
duty,  and  also  to  read  God's  Word  to  the  j^eople  on 
Sundays.  Thus,  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  was 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  our  Empire  State,  on  the  firm 
and  sure  foundation  of  justice,  morality,  and  religion. 
This  historical  fact  places  the  character  of  the  Dutch 
and  French  settlers  in  the  most  honoral3le  light. 

The  Rev.  Joannes  Megopolensis,  as  early  as  1642,  took 
charge  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  Albany,  and 
five  years  afterward  became  the  Dominie  at  Manhattan. 
In  1G52,  he  selected  the  Rev.  Samuel  Drissius  for  his 
colleague,  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  the  French 
and  English.  From  his  letters,  we  learn  that  he  visited 
Staten  Island  once  a  mouth,  to  preach  there  to  the  French 
Protestants.  His  ministry  continued  from  1652  to  1671. 
About  1690,  the  New  York  Consistory  invited  the  Rev. 
Peter  Daille,  who  had  ministered  among  the  Massa- 
chusetts Huguenots,  to  preach  occasionally  in  French  on 
Staten  Island.  From  1656  to  1663,  more  French  emi- 
gi-jints  from  the  Palatinate  obtained  grants  of  land  on 
the  island,  and  in  1675  they  erected  a  church  near  Rich- 
mond village.  I  have  often  visited  the  venerable  spot, 
and  all  that  remains  to  mark  the  sacred  place  is  a  single 
broken  gravestone.  Nor  is  any  record  of  its  history 
left. 


f=4i5V-         /^^^\ 

piiii 

l*'W 

iimilLU 

i 

iRim 

->   oM>   T   UN  sin.IT  (,  ru  i 


Wksi.ky  Ciiapki.,  or  First  John  Ptkeet  ('iiirKcir. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  259 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

HUGUENOT     REFUGEES      SETTLE      NEW     ROCHELLE,    1698 CHURCH     OR- 
GANIZED     AND      BUILT DAVID      BONREPOS,    D.     D.,     FIRST     PASTOR 

PREACHES     ON     STATEN     ISLAND RECEIVES     "  LETTERS    OF    DENIZA- 
TION"  MANOR    OF    PELHAM DANIEL    BONDET   THE   NEXT  IIUGItENOT 

MINISTER HIS      EARLY      HISTORY MISSIONARY      TO      THE      NIPMUG 

INDI/ NS,    ■'693  — WAR    COMPELS    HIM    TO    LEAVE CALLUD    TO    NEW 

ROCHELLE SALARY    THIRTY    POUNDS PRAYERS     IN     FRENCH HIS 

CONGREGATION    CONFORMS    TO     THE     CHURCH     OF    ENGLAND,    l709 

NEW    CHURCH     BUILT GOVERNOR    HUNTER NEGRO     COMMUNICANTS 

LEWIS     ROUX,     HUGUENOT     MINISTER     IN     NEW"     YORK BONDEt's 

DEATH,    1722^PIERRE     STOUPPE     SUCCEEDS    HIM — THE    "  ANCIENS," 

OR    ELDERS NEGRO     BAPTISMS FRENCH    "dISSENTERS" MR.    MOU- 

LINARS EARLIEST  SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW    ROCHELLE MR.  STOUPPe's 

DEATH,     1760 BURIED     UNDER     CHANCEL     OF     THE      CHURCH HIS 

SUCCESSOR,    REV.    MICHAEL    HOUDIN. 

In  the  Documentary  History  of  ISTew  York'^  we  find 
a  "Petition  from  N'ew  Roclielle,"  of  "above  twenty" 
Huguenots,  or  Frencli  Protestants,  asking  Governor 
Fletcher  "to  grant  them  for  some  years  what  help 
and  privileges  your  Excellency  shall  think  convenient" 
(1689).  By  the  pious  emigrants  and  sufferers  for  con- 
science, sake  the  village  was  first  settled,  naming  it  after 
theu' 

"  Own  Rochellc,  the  fair  Roclielle, 
Proud  cjty  of  the  waters." 

Tradition  says  they  landed  on  Davenport' s  Week.  But 
coeval  with  the  commencement  of  the  settlement  was 
the  organization  of  a  Protestant  church,  in  which  the 

*  Vol.  iii.  p.  926. 


230  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   XEW   YORK. 

Huguenots  adliered  to  tlie  pure  principles  of  their  pious 
forefathers,  as  contained  in  the  "Articles,  Liturgy,  Dis- 
cipline, and  Canons,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  France."  "It  was  for  their  reli- 
gion," they  said,  "that  they  suffered  in  their  native 
country ;  and  to  enjoy  its  j)rivileges  unmolested,  they 
fled  into  the  wilderness." 

A  church  Avas  immediately  erected,  about  the  year 
1692-3,  and  constructed  of  wood,  "in  the  rear  of  the 
Mansion  House,  close  by  the  old  Boston  Road."*  Louis 
Bongard,  at  the  same  time,  "did  give  unto  the  inhabi- 
tants of  New  Rochelle  a  piece  of  land  forty  paces  square 
for  a  churchyard  to  bury  their  dead,"  ...  to  "have  a 
particular  lane  or  road  from  Boston  Road  going  to  the 
churchyard,  all  along  the  swamp  .  .  .  making  a  door 
(gate)  which  shall  be  shut  by  those  who  will  make  use 
of  it." — (Town  Records  of  New  Rochelle,  p.  20.)  Sub- 
sequently the  town  gave  a  house  and  three-quarters  of 
an  acre  to  this  church  forever. 

At  this  early  period  the  Rev.  David  Bonrepos,  D.  D., 
was  the  first  minister  of  tliis  Huguenot  church.  He 
accompanied  the  emigrants  in  their  flight  from  France, 
but  we  have  ascertained  nothing  concerning  his  minis- 
try, except  his  resignation,  in  1694.  The  following  year, 
we  find  him  laboring  among  the  French  Protestants  on 
Staten  Island,  as  the  Rev.  John  Miller,  describing  the 
province  of  New  York,  states  (1695) :  "There  is  a  meet- 
ing-house at  Richmond,  of  which  Dr.  Bonrepos  is  the 
minister.  There  are  forty  Englisli  and  thirty-six  French 
families."     On  the   9th  of  March,    1690,    "David  de 

*  Bolton's  History  of  the  Cimrcli  in  Westchester  County. 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   FEW   YORK.  261 

Bonrepos,  of  New  York  city,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and 
Blanche,  his  wife,  did  grant  to  Elias  de  Bonrepos,  of 
New  Rochelle,  husbandman,  all  that  certain  parcel  of 
land  situate  and  lying  at  New  Rochelle,  in  the  Manor  of 
Pelham  .  .  .  containing  fifty  acres  of  ground."* 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1695-6,  "letters  of  deniza- 
tion were  granted  to  David  Bonrepos  and  others.  Elias 
Bonrepos  was  licensed  to  keep  school  within  y^  town 
of  Rochelle,  upon  the  23d  of  June,  1705. "f  Thus  we 
discover  that  the  minister  and  the  schoolmaster  came 
together  with  the  Huguenots  to  America.  Letters  of 
administration  were  granted  to  Martha  Bonrepos,  wife 
of  David  Bonrepos,  25th  of  October,  1711.:}:  On  the  24th 
of  March,  1693,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  New  York 
Province  passed  an  act  by  which  the  name  of  Pelham 
became, one  of  the  four  districts  of  Westchester  parish, 
and  in  1702  New  Rochelle  contributed  seven  pounds 
three  shillings  towards  the  rector's  salary.  During  1720 
the  benefaction  increased  to  twelve  pounds  fourteen  shil- 
lings one  and  a  halfpence. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  Bondet,  A.  ]M.,  a  native  of  France, 
was  the  next  minister  of  the  Huguenot  church.  New 
Rochelle.  Born  in  1652,  he  studied  divinity  and  en- 
tered the  ministry  at  Geneva,  but  fled  to  England  upon 
the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Here  he  obtained 
holy  orders  from  the  Bishop  of  London,  Henry  Comp- 
ton,  and  reached  Boston,  with  a  company  of  French 
Protestants,  in  the  summer  of  1686.  He  was  then  em- 
ployed,  also,   during   eight  years,  by  the   Society   for 

*  Town  Rec,  Lib.  A.,  304-5.  f  Albany  Deed  Book,  vol.  x.  65. 

^  Xevr  York  Surro,c?ate's  OiSce,  Lib.  viii.  61. 


262  EARLIEST  CHUKCHES   IN   NEW   YOrK. 

Propagating  the  Christian  Faith  among  the  Indians  at 
New  Oxford,  near  Boston.  These  were  the  "Nip- 
mugs;"  and  Cotton  Mather,  1693,  speaks  of  him  as  a 
faithful  minister  "to  the  Frencli  congregation  at  New 
Oxford,  in  the  Nipmug  country."*  He  complained  of 
the  sale  of  rum  to  the  Indians  "  without  order  and  meas- 
ure ;"  a  public  disgrace  and  evil,  alas!  fatally  continued 
among  the  poor  Red  Men  of  the  forests  to  our  day.  This 
settlement  was  broken  up  by  the  Indians  in  the  year 
1696,  where  he  had  labored  on  an  "allowance  of  a  salary 
of  twenty-five  pounds  a  year,  and  consumed  the  little  he 
•brought  with  him  from  France  in  settling  himself  for 
that  service,  and  being  afterwards,  by  reason  of  the  war, 
compelled  to  fly  from  thence,  his  improvements  were 
wholly  lost."  During  the  time  of  his  stay  there,  about 
eight  3^ears,  the  same  old  account  from  which  we  have 
extracted  adds  :  "It  appears  by  a  certificate  under  the 
hands  of  the  late  Lieutenant-Governor  Stougliton,  of 
Boston,  Wait  Winthrop,  Increase  Mather,  and  Charles 
Morton,  that  he,  with  great  faithfulness,  care,  and  indus- 
try, discharged  his  duty,  both  in  reference  to  Christians 
and  Indians,  and  was  of  an  unblemished  life  and  con- 
versation." 

After  his  call  to  New  Rochelle,  the  same  corxDoration, 
in  consideration  of  his  past  sufferings  and  services,  cou- 
tlnu(?d  his  salary,  which  he  enjoyed  until  the  arrival  of 
Governor  Bellamont,  from  England,  who  settled  upon 
liim  thirty  pounds  a  year  from  the  public  revenue.  The 
governor  afterwards  withdrew  this  benefaction,  and  suc- 
cessfully used  his  intlucMice  with  the  Propagation  Society 

*  Magnolia,  D.  vi.  G. 


EAELIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOKK.  263 

to  withdraw  tlieii-s  of  thirty  pounds,  so  that  tlie  French 
missionary  had  only  the  twenty  pounds  a  year  from  tlie 
New  Eochelle  church  to  support  liimself  and  family.* 

In  the  year  1704,  we  find  this  record  from  the  clergy 
of  'New  York:  "Mr.  Daniel  Bondet  has  gone  farther 
and  done  more  in  that  good  work  (converting  the 
heathen)  tlian  any  Protestant  minister  that  we  know ; 
we  commend  him  ....  as  a  person  industrious 
in  y«  service  of  the  Church  and  his  own  nation,  y* 
French,  at  IS'ew  Rochelle." 

At  first  Mr.  Bondet  used  the  French  prayers ;  but, 
subsequently,  on  every  third  Sabbath,  the  Liturgy  of 
the  Church  of  England.  This  important  change  took 
place  June  12,  1709,  all  the  members  of  the  Huguenot 
church,  except  two,  agreeing  to  conform  to  "the  reli- 
gious worship.  Liturgy,  and  rites  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land as  established  by  law. ' '  This  official  act  was  signed 
by  "Elias  Badeau,  Andrew  Reneau,  J.  Levillain,  with 
twenty-six  others. ' '  f  Proper  religious  services  were  held 
on  the  occasion,  June  13,  1709,  in  the  old  wooden  church, 
erected  1692-3 ;  Bartow,  the  j^arish  rector,  being  pres- 
ent, read  the  prayers,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sharp,  an  Eng- 
lish chaplain,  delivered  a  discourse.  Then  conformity 
was  proposed  to  the  congregation,  and  adopted  by  sub- 
scribing their  names  to  the  proper  document,  f  At  the 
time  it  was  hoped  by  Churchmen  that  this  example 
would  influence  the  French  Protestant  congregation  in 
New  York,  likewise,  to  conform. 

Immediately,   a    committee    of  Isaac  Guions,    Louis 

*  Doc.  History  of  New  York,  vol.  iii. 

f  "Dr.  Hawks,  MSS.  Archives  at  Fulham." 


264  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Guions,  Jejeune,  Aiitliouy  Lispeiiard,  and  Pierce  Val- 
leaii,  with  twenty-two  others,  petitioned  the  venerable 
Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Grospel  in  Foreign  Parts 
to  grant  Mr.  Bondet  tlie  thirty  j)onnds  whicli  had  "been 
witliheld  by  tlie  Earl  of  Bellamont.  They  also  asked  for 
"a  considerable  number  of  Prayer  Books  in  the  French 
language,"  Both  requests  were  granted,  and  his  salary 
increased  from  thirty  to  fifty  pounds  per  annum.* 

The  congregation  increasing,  Governor  Ingoldsby,  in 
1709,  issued  an  order  or  license  for  the  inhabitants  to 
erect  a  new  church,  which  was  accomplished  during  the 
administration  of  Governor  Colonel  Robert  Hunter,  who 
zealously  espoused  the  cause  of  the  church.  Mr.  Sharp, 
the  chaplain,  collected  the  subscriptions,  with  the  Rev. 
Elias  Neau  ;  and  they  were  made  in  sums  from  six  pounds 
(Governor  Hunter's)  down  to  five  shillings  sixpence. 
The  sums  do  not  seem  very  large,  but  we  must  not  for- 
get the  relative  value  of  money  at  that  jDcriod  and  the 
present.  So  anxious  were  all  to  contribute  towards  the 
new  undertaking,  that  even  the  females  carried  stones  in 
their  hands  and  mortar  in  their  aprons  to  finish  the  sa- 
cred temple.  It  was  nearly  square,  of  stone,  and  plain. 
A  royal  patent  was  secured  from  Queen  Anne,  February 
7,  1714.  t  An  old  record  of  this  date  says  that  Mr.  Bon- 
det "is  a  good  old  man,  near  sixty  years  of  ^ige,  sober, 
just,  and  religious,"  .  .  .  "  minister  of  the  French 
Calvinistic  congregation  at  New  RocIk^Ho."  The  Vener- 
able Propagation  Society  forwarded  to  him  "ten  pounds, 
in  consideration  of  his  diligence  and  care  in  performing 
English  service,  every  third  Sunday,  for  tlie  edification 

*  Dr.  Hawks.  f  Alb.  Rcc,  Lib.  viii.  pp.  1,  2,  3. 


EARLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  26o 

of  tlie  French  yoiitli,  who  have  learnt  so  much  of  that 
language  as  to  join  with  him  therein."  At  the  request 
■of  the  same  body,  in  the  year  1714,  he  took  the  religious 
charge  of  the  Mohegan  or  River  Indians.  The  same  year 
he  requests  the  honorable  Society  to  allow  him  "the 
benefit  of  an  English  Bible,  with  a  small  quantity  of 
English  Common  Prayers,  because  our  young  j)eople,  or 
some  of  them,  have  sufficiently  learned  to  read  English 
for  to  join  in  the  public  service  when  read  in  English." 
He  also  informs  the  same  body,  November  12,  1717,  of 
the  death  of  his  wife  (Jane) :  "  God  having  crowned  the 
hardships  of  her  2:)ilgrimage  with  an  honorable  end,  I 
keep  and  rule  my  house,  as  I  ought  to  be  exemplary 
in  house  ruling  as  in  church  ministry.  My  congregation 
continue  in  the  same  terms  that  you  have  been  informed 
by  my  precedents :  forty,  fifty,  and  sixty  communicants. 
I  have  of  late  admitted  to  the  Communion  two  negroes, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Church." 

Mr.  Bondet  experienced  some  trouble  in  his  latter 
days  from  the  Consistory  of  the  French  church  in  New 
York,  and  some  of  the  people  in  New  Rochelle  separated 
from  those  who  conformed  to  the  Established  Church, 
and  continued  their  religious  services  after  their  old 
way.  The  New  York  French  Consistory  approving 
this  course,  in  opi^osition  to  the  sentiments  of  their  own 
lawful  pastor,  Monsieur  Louis  Roux,  he  Avas  ultimately 
dismissed  from  this  pastoral  charge,  and  his  place  filled 
by  a  Rev.  Mr.  Moulinars.  Monsieur  Roux  declares,  in 
a  letter  to  Governor  Hunter  (1724-5),  that  this  new 
IDarty  had  "fomented,  for  several  years,  a  scandalous 
schism  at  New  Rochelle."    This  religious  strife  continu 


266  EARLIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

in:;-  some  time,  the  New  York  party  ultimately  left  that 
Church ;  while  the  seceders  of  New  Rochello  erected  a 
meeting-house  of  their  own,  styling  themselves  "The 
French  Protestant  Congregation."  They  seem  to  have 
been  "Independents." 

Bondet  died  in  the  year  1722,  aged  sixty-nine,  twenty- 
six  of  which  were  devoted  to  the  ministry  of  this  church. 
Eminentl}^  useful,  under  adverse  circumstances,  he 
lived  greatly  beloved,  and  thus  lamented  died.  He 
was  buried  under  the  chancel  of  the  old  French  church 
at  New  Rochelle.  He  bequeathed  all  his  books  (four 
hundred  volumes)  to  the  use  of  the  Church. 

The  Rev.  Pierre  Stouppe,  A.  M.,  succeeded  Mr.  Bon- 
det, in  1724.     He  was  also  a  native  of  France,  born  in 
1690  ;  and,  studying  divinity  at  Geneva,  accepted  a  call 
to    the    French    church,    Charleston,    South  Carolina. 
Here  he  remained  until  the  year  1723,  when,  resigning 
his  charge,   he  conformed  to  the  Church  of  England, 
went  to  England,  and  was  ordained  by  Gibson,  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  London.     He  was  appointed  a  missionary  to 
New  Rochelle,  with  a  salary  of  fifty  pounds  per  annum, 
and  proved  very  acceptable  to  his  flock,  receiving  fifty 
pounds  per  annum,  and  preaching  in  French  to  those 
who  only  understood  this  language.    When  Mr.  Stouppe 
arrived,  his  elders,  or  "anciens,"  as  they  are  somethnes 
called,  were  Isaac  Quantien  and  Isaac  Guion.     In  a  letter 
to  the  "Venerable  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts,"  he  complains  of  tlie  conduct  of  the 
seceding  party,  and  that  Mr.  Moulinars  liad  declared 
"  that  he  finds  our  Church  (the  Established)  and  that  of 
Rome  as  like  one  anotlier  as  two  fishes  can  be  ;  besides. 


EARLIEST   CITURC'IIES   11^   NEW   YORK.  267 

tlie  said  minister  and  his  party  have  threatened  the  yet 
dissenting  French  inhabitants  of  'New  Rochelle  of  break- 
ing with  them  all  commerce,  and  of  suspending  all  acts 
of  charity  and  support  towards  them,  if  even  they 
should  dare  to  join  themselves  at  any  time  to  the  Church. 
.  .  .  .  I  heartily  wish  the  honorable  Society  would 
pity  our  assaulted  Church,  and  take  some  effectual  means 
for  the  removing  of  the  cause  and  instrument  of  the  un- 
happy divisions  we  are  in.  Our  endeavors  here,  without 
their  assistance,  having  j^roved  of  but  little  avail  and  of 
none  effect. ' '  In  1726,  he  writes  ' '  that  he  has  baptized  six 
grown  negroes  and  seven  negro  children,  fifty-eight 
young  people,  for  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord' s  Supper, 
to  which  they  have  been  accordingly  admitted ;  and 
that  the  number  of  his  communicants  at  Easter  last  was 
thirty."* 

At  first,  Mr.  Stouppe's  salary  from  his  church  was 
only  ten  pounds  nineteen  shillings,  ' '  a  little  more  than 
half  part  of  it,"  he  states,  "actually  paid;  adding  to 
that  the  provisions  of  firewood  which  they  make  to  their 
minister  for  the  time  being,  is  by  much  the  better  part 
of  his  salary,  though  little  in  itself." 

He  gives  some  valuable  information  concerning  the 
settlement  of  the  Huguenots  in  New  Rochelle.  They 
numbered  about  a  dozen  families,  '^' French  Refugees," 
and  most  of  them  merchants.  Purchasing  six  thousand 
acres  of  land  from  Lord  Pell,  they  divided  it  into  parcels 
of  from  twenty  to  three  hundred  apiece,  and  then  sold 
it  in  lots  to  the  Dutch,  English,  and  French  settlers,  but 
most  to  the  latter.     Its  population  then  numbered  four 

*  Dr.  Hawks,  ILSS.  from  Fulham,  vol.  i. 


208  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

hundred  persons,  and  among  them,  he  says,  "two 
Quaker  families,  three  Dutch  ones,  and  foui'  Lutherans. 
The  first  never  assist  our  assemblies ;  the  Dutch  and 
Lutherans,  on  the  contrary,  constantly  assist,  when 
divine  service  is  performed  in  English,  so  that  they  may 
understand  it;  and  their  children  likewise  have  been 
bajotized  b}^  ministers  of  the  Church.  Only  the  French 
Dissenters  have  deserted  it,  upon  Mr.  Moulinars,  for- 
merly one  of  the  French  ministers  of  New  York,  coming 
and  settling,  now  a  year  ago,  among  us  ;  and  'tis  also  by 
his  means  and  inducement  that,  while  he  yet  was  min- 
ister of  New  York,  they  have  built  a  wooden  meeting- 
house, Avithin  the  time  they  were  unprovided  for,  that 
is,  from  my  predecessor' s  death  to  my  arrival  here.  The 
said  Moulinars  and  followers,  to  tlie  number  of  about 
one  hundred  persons,  and  the  said  meeting-house,  built 
by  his  persuasion,  are  the  sole  dissenting  teacher,  people, 
and  meeting-house  within  New  Rochelle  bounds." 

No  schoolmaster  had  yet  arrived  in  New  Rochelle ; 
but,  greatly  to  the  praise  of  the  settlers,  parents  in- 
structed their  own  children,  besides  the  teachings  of 
their  minister  at  church,  during  the  summer.  The  num- 
ber of  slaves  was  sevent^^-eight,  and  part  "constantly 
attend  divine  service,  and  have  had  some  instructions 
in  the  Christian  faith,  by  the  care  and  assistance  of  their 
respective  masters  and  mistresses,  so  tliat  my  prede- 
cessors did  not  scruple  to  baptize  some,  and  even  to 
admit  to  the  Communion  of  the  Lord' s  Supper ;  and  I 
myself  have,  for  the  same  consideration,  baptized  fifteen 
of  them  within  these  three  years,  some  children,  and 
some  grown  persons,  indifferently  wo]\  instructed  in  the 


EARLIEST   CIIUIICHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  269 

fundamentals  of  our  holy  religion."  Mr.  Stouppe  adds 
that  these  slaves  "shall  always  share  in  my  assistance 
and  care,  and,  as  far  as  will  be  necessary  to  make  them 
good  and  religious  persons,  without  the  least  prejudice 
to  the  rest  of  my  flock."  Noble,  pious  sentiments  and 
conduct  for  this  early  and  zealous  Huguenot  missionary 
in  America  !  He  continued  thus  faithfully  to  discharge 
his  ministerial  duties  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1756, 
he  had  eighty  communicants,  and  officiated  to  numerous 
congregations,  both  of  French  and  English.  In  an 
address  to  the  "Venerable  Society,"  about  this  period, 
by  Jean  Soulice,  Peter  Bonnet,  Giel  Le  Count,  Peter 
Sicard,  and  fifty-six  others,  "his  preaching,"  they  say, 
"is  much  to  our  satisfaction  and  edification,  his  doctrine 
being  very  sound  and  his  pronunciation  full,  clear,  and 
intelligible." 

Mr.  Stouppe' s  ministry  closed  'by  death  in  July,  1760. 
He  evidently  was  a  simple-minded,  conscientious,  zealous 
missionary  of  his  Master,  continuing  during  seven  and 
thirty  years  to  discharge  faithfully  the  solemn  duties  of 
his  mission.  His  remains  were  also  interred  under  the 
chancel  of  the  old  French  church,  to  await  the  resur- 
rection' s  morn,  when  all  God' s  true  children  shall  hear  : 
"  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

Mr.  Stouppe  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Michael 
Houdin,  A.  M. 


270  EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

REV.   PETER    DAILLE    AND     MICHAEL    HOUDIN    AT    NEW  ROCHELLE THE 

HUGUENOTS    THERE  CONFORM    TO  THE    EPISCOPAL  CHURCH    (iVSl) 

REV.  T.   BARTOW  FIRST   RECTOR HIS    DESCENDANTS SUCCESSORS    IN 

THE    MINISTRY TRINITY    BUILT REV.    MR.   BAYARD PENNSYLVANIA 

AND     MARYLAND     AN     ASYLUM     FOR     HUGUENOTS — DR.     RICHEBOURG 

THEIR    FIRST     PASTOR    IN    VIRGINIA "  MANNIKIN     TOWN" CURIOUS 

FRENCH    RELIC REV.  JOHN  FONTAINE HUGUENOTS  IN  SOUTH  CARO- 
LINA,  AND    PASTORS CHURCH    IN    CHARLESTON REV.    ELIAS    PRIO- 

LEAU THIS    CONGREGATION    THE    ONLY    ONE    OF    THE    KIND    IN    OUR 

LAND — ITS    LITURGY. 

Rev.  Michael  Houdin,  A.  M.,  was  the  fourth  French 
or  Huguenot  preacher  at  New  Rochelle,  and  born  in 
France,  in  1705.  He  was  educated  a  Franciscan  friar, 
and  on  Easter  Day,  1730,  ordained  a  priest  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Treves,  and  subsequently  preferred  to  the 
post  of  Superior  in  the  convent  of  the  Recollects  at 
Montreal.  But,  disgusted  w^ith  monastic  life,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  French  war  M.  Houdin  left  Canada 
and  came  to  the  city  of  New  York.  Here,  at  Easter,  the 
same  holy  day  on  which,  seventeen  years  before,  he  had 
entered  the  Romish  priesthood,  he  now  made  a  public 
renunciation  of  Popery,  joining  the  Church  of  England. 
Having  attained  great  proficiency  in  the  English  tongue, 
in  June,  1750,  he  was  invited  to  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 
to  labor  as  a  missionary  in  that  State. 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  271 

When  M.  Hoiidin  first  reached  New  York,  with  his 
wife,  ill  June,  1744,  Governor  Clinton,  suspicions  of  all 
Frenchmen  at  that  moment,  confined  the  strangers  to 
their  lodgings,  and  guarded  them  by  two  sentinels.  The 
next  day,  examined  by  his  Excellency,  he  learned  from 
him  that  "  the  French  Intended  to  attack  Oswego  with 
eight  liuudred  men,  the  French  having  a  great  desire 
to  be  masters  of  that  place."  Then  M.  Houdin  was 
ordered  to  reside  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  where  he 
complained  that  his  circumstances  were  "very  low," 
and  he  "  could  do  nothing  to  get  a  living  ;  that  his  wife 
and  himself  must  soon  come  to  want  unless  his  Excel- 
lency would  be  pleased  to  take  him  into  consideration." 
After  this  honest  appeal,  the  authorities  advised  his 
return  to  the  city,  on  his  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

For  some  years  M.  Houdin  officiated  at  Trenton  and 
the  neighboring  places  as  an  "itinerant  missionary," 
and  in  1759  his  services  were  required  as  a  guide  for 
General  Wolfe,  in  his  well-known  expedition  against 
Quebec.  Before  marching,  he  preached  to  the  Provin- 
cial troops  destined  for  Canada,  in  St.  Peter' s  Church, 
Westcliester,  from  St.  Matthew  x.  28  :  "  Fear  not  them 
which  kill  the  body."  The  French  chaplain  escaped 
the  dangers  of  the  war,  but  his  brave  general  fell  mor- 
tally wounded,  at  the  very  moment  of  victory,  on  the 
heights  of  Abraham,  September  13,  1759.  After  the 
reduction  of  Quebec,  he  asked  leave  to  join  his  mission 
again,  but  General  Murray  would  not  consent,  as  there 
was  no  other  person  who  could  be  relied  on  for  intelli- 
gence concerning  the  French  movements. 

While  M,  Houdin  was  stationed  at  Quebec,  the  Vicar- 


272  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

General  of  all  Canada  made  an  attemi)t  to  seduce  him 
from  English  alliance  by  an  offer  of  great  preferment  in 
the  Romish  Church.  This  intrigue  or  invitation  found 
its  way  to  Generals  Murray  and  Gage,  when  they  sent 
a  guard  to  arrest  the  Vicar- General. 

M.  Houdin,  returning  to  New  York  in  1761,  was  ap- 
pointed "  itinerant  missionary''  to  New  Rochelle  by  the 
"  Venerable  Society  of  England,"  "  he  being  a  French- 
man by  birth,  and  capable  of  doing  his  duty  to  them 
both  in  the  French  and  English  languages."  The 
French  Church  at  New  Rochelle  had  been  named 
"  Trinity,"  and  during  his  incumbency  received  its  first 
charter  from  George  III.,  which  the  present  corj^oration 
still  enjoys,  with  all  its  trusts  and  powers,  and  under 
which  they  are  now  finishing  a  new  and  very  beautiful 
stone  church.  The  charter  is  dated  in  1762,  and  was 
exemplified  by  Governor  George  Clinton,  1793. 

In  1763,  M.  Houdin  writes  that  the  Calvinists  used 
unlawful  methods  to  obtain  possession  of  the  church 
glebe.  These  Calvinists  were  the  few  old  Protestant 
French  families  who  had  not  conformed  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  Houdin  says  plainly  of  them  :  "  Seeing 
the  Calvinists  will  not  agree  upon  any  terms  of  peace 
proposed  to  them  by  our  Church,  .  .  .  .  Ave  are  in 
hope  the  strong  bleeding  of  their  purse  will  bring  them 
to  an  agreement  after  New  York  court." 

The  French  Protestant  preacher  continued  his  pious 
labors  among  the  people  of  New  Rochelle  until  October, 
1766,  when  he  rested  from  them  b}^  death.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  learning,  irreproachable  character, 
and  esteemed  a  worthy  Christian  missionary.     The  last 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  273 

of  the  Huguenot  preacliors  in  New  Roclielle,  he  was 
interred  under  the  chancel  of  the  old  French  church 
there,  by  the  side  of  his  faithful  and  pious  j)re- 
decessors  in  the  sacred  office,  Bondet  and  Stouppe. 
Since  the  removal  of  this  sacred  edifice,  long  ago,  the 
dust  and  ashes  of  these  early  French  missionaries  to  our 
land  have  reposed  beneath  the  public  highway  "to 
Boston,"  but  not  a  stone  tells  where  they  lie,  or  com- 
memorates their  usefulness,  excellence,  or  piety.  This 
is  a  disgrace  to  the  living,  and  a  neglect  of  the  i^ious 
dead.  Their  silent  graves  ought  not  to  remain  thus 
neglected  and  unnoticed.  Some  cenotaph  or  monument 
should  point  out  the  hallowed  spot  where  these  first 
Huguenot  preachers  were  entombed. 

M.  Houdin's  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Eev.  Henry  Munro,  A.  M.,of  Yonkers,  from  Hosea  iv. 
12 :  "Prepare  to  meet  thy  God." 

In  the  rear  of  the  church  was  the  old  French  burying- 
ground,  and  here  repose  many  of  the  departed  exiled 
Huguenots,  till  the  resurrection  of  the  just.  On  the 
earliest  tombstones  the  epitaphs  are  illegible,  but  among 
those  j)reserved  are  the  follo\ving  : 

VOICI   LE   CORPS  IiE   ISAAC   COUTANT,  AG.    DE    &0    ANS. 

VOICI  LE  CORPS  DE  SUSA\A  LANDRIN,  AG.  DE   18.      M.  LE  G  D.  S.  L.   1750. 

HERE    LIES   THE   BODY  OP  ANDRE  RANOUD,  WHO  DEPARTED    THIS   LIFE  ON  FRIDAY, 
YE  2  DAY  OF  DEC,  A.  V.   1758,   AGED  25  YR. 

The  Baptismal  Register  does  not  commence  until  the 
year  1724,  and  for  the  information  of  the  curious  in  olden 
times  we  copy  an  entry  : 

"  Ce  Dimanche,  14  Mars,  1724,  a  ete  baptise,  sortie  service  du  matin,  6I3  do 
Tliomas  Wallis  et  Madeleine  sa  femme.     Le  Piire  a  tita  prosont,  au  saint  bap- 

18 


274  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

temc,  par  Denys  Wocrtman  et  Elizabeth  sa  fcmme.  Parrain  et  Miirraine:  le  dit 
Peter  est  ne  lo  six  dii  dit  mois. 

"  Thomas  "Wallis,  Peter  Stouppe, 

"Denis  Woertman,  Isaac  Quaintain,  Ancien." 

her 

"  Euzabetu  M  Woertman. 

marque. 

Tlie  old  church  glebe  was  sold  in  1800-1804,  and  the 
funds  loaned  on  the  present  parsonage,  and  which  fell 
to  the  church  by  foreclosing  tlie  mortgage  in  Chancery, 
1821. 

From  M.  Houdin's  death  until  the  Revolution,  divine 
services  were  performed  in  the  French  church  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Seabury,  the  rector  of  the  2:>arish.  In  his  first 
report,  he  says:  "The  congregation  consists  of  nearly 
two  hundred  people,  decent  and  well  behaved,  part 
Englisli  and  irdvt  French.  The  French  all  understand 
English  tolerably  well,  and,  except  half-a-dozen  old 
people,  in  whose  hands  is  the  chief  management  of 
affairs,  full  as  well  as  they  do  French.  The  greatest 
part  of  them  would  prefer  an  English  to  a  French  min- 
ister, and  none  are  warm  for  a  French  one  but  the  half- 
a-dozen  above  mentioned. ' ' 

' '  They  had  a  glebe  of  near  one  hundred  acres  of  land 
left  them  formerly,  thirty  acres  of  which  they  have  re- 
covered. The  rest  is  kept  from  them  under  pretence 
that  it  was  given  to  a  Presbyterian  or  Calvinistic  French 
Church.  They  have  also  a  parsonage-hous(^ ;  but  whether 
these  endowments  are  so  made  that  an  English  minister 
could  enjoy  them,  I  cannot  yet  learn.  I  liave  been  thus 
particular,  tliat  the  Society  may  be  able  to  judge  whether 
it  is  expedient  for  them  to  send  another  missionary  to 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK,  27,^ 

New  Rochelle  or  not."  At  this  period  in  the  history  oi" 
New  York,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  "  Venerable 
Society"  of  England  supplied  the  colony  with  ministers 
of  the  Gospel — missionaries. 

Mr.  Seabury,  in  another  letter  of  October  1st,  1768, 
Ba3''s  of  the  New  Rochelle  French  Church:  "As 
there  is  a  number  of  strolling  teachers,  especially  of 
the  sect  of  Anabaptists,  who  ramble  through  the  coun- 
try, preaching  at  private  houses,  for  the  sake  of  making 
proselytes  and  collecting  money,  I  have  thought  it 
best  to  visit  them  occasionally,  as  well  to  prevent  any 
ill  effects  that  might  arise,  as  for  the  sake  of  a  num- 
ber of  well-disposed  people  who  live  there*.  I  shall, 
however,  carefully  attend  to  the  caution  you  give, 
not  to  neglect  any  particular  case  of  East  and  West- 
chester."* 

During  the  American  Revolution  the  French  church  at 
New  Rochelle  appears  to  have  been  closed,  and  its  con- 
gregation much  scattered.  After  the  treaty  of  peace, 
the  parish  was  regularly  organized,  and  the  royal  charter 
granted  to  Trinity,  in  1702,  confirmed  by  Governor  Clin- 
ton, in  1793.  AVhat  was  left  of  the  French  congregation 
mostly  became  Episcopalians ;  and  from  1781  to  1786, 
Mr.  Andrew  Fowler  read  prayers  and  sennons  to  the 
people.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Theodosius 
Bartow,  as  a  lay-reader,  until  he  obtained  holy  orders. 
Mr.  Bartow  was  the  first  rector  of  Westchester  parish, 
and,  by  his  mother,  Bathsheba  Pell,  descendant  of  John 
Pell,  the  second  ];)roprietor  of  the  manor  of  Pelliam.  At 
this  period,  his  salary  was  thirty  pounds  per  annum, 

*  X.  y.  JISS.,  Dr.  Hawks. 


27C  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

and  Lewis  Pintard,  Esq.,  appears  to  have  principally 
j)aid  it  for  a  long  time. 

For  tliirt}^  years  Mr.  Bartow  labored  in  this  church, 
resigning  his  sacred  office  in  the  year  1819.  He  died 
the  same  yedv,  and  his  remains  sleep  in  the  graveyard 
of  Trinity,  New  Rochelle,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the 
old  Huguenot  church  and  the  graves  of  his  predecessors 
in  the  Gospel  ministry — Bondet,  Stoupj)e,  and  Iloudin. 
His  age  was  seventy-two.  The  late  John  Bartow,  of 
Baltimore,  the  Rev.  Theodore  Bartow,  with  the  Rev. 
Henry  B.  Bartow,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
are  liis  grandsons. 

By  adding  a  few  more  names  we  can  complete  the  list 
of  Episcopal  clergymen  in  New  Rochelle  to  a  modern 
date.  The  Rev.  Renaud  Kearney,  A.  M.,  was  elected 
ministei'  in  1819,  and  resigning  in  1821,  the  Rev.  Lewis 
Pintard.  A.  M.,  became  the  rector  of  this  parish  in  1821. 
He  was  born  at  the  residence  of  his  great  uncle,  Elias 
Boudinot,  LL.  D.,  at  Frankford,  Pennsylvania.  Ills 
father  was  the  Hon.  Samuel  Bayard,  of  Philadelj^hia, 
and  his  mother  the  only  daughter  of  that  excellent  citi- 
zen, Lewis  Pintard,  LL.  D. 

During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Bayard  the  j)resent  Trinity 
was  ercjcted  in  New  Rochelle.  In  1827,  he  changed  the 
field  of  his  ministry  to  Geneva,  New  York,  and  then  to 
Genesee  ;  and  during  1830,  reorganized  St.  Clement's, 
New  York.  In  1840,  he  made  a  tour  through  Eurojx^  to 
Syria  and  the;  ll(jly  Land,  for  health.  After  lour  months' 
abs*ince,  and  on  his  return,  he  died  at  sea,  September 
2d,  that  year.  In  1827,  the  Rev.  Lawson  Carter,  A.  M., 
was  called  to    iill   the  vacant  parish,  resigning  1839, 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  277 

when  the  Rev.  Thomcas  W.  Coit,  D.  D.,  became  rector; 
and  in  1849,  the  Rev.  Richard  U.  Morgan,  T>.  D.,  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  parish,  who  continues  the  excellent 
pastor  of  this  time-honored  flock.  In  a  visit  to  New 
Rochelle,  we  found  the  original  bell  presented  to  the 
French  Church  du  St.  Esprit,  New  York,  by  Sir  Henry 
Ashurst,  of  London.  It  iioio  calls  the  peojDle  to  the 
Lord's  house,  as  it  did  more  than  a  century  ago  in  our 
city.     It  bears  this  legend  : 

"Samuel  Newton  Made  Me,  1706." 

The  communion  plate,  a  large  silver  chalice  and  paten, 
was  the  gift  of  "  Good  Queen  Anne." 

There  are  many  descendants  of  the  Huguenots  in  New 
Rochelle  and  its  neighborhood,  and  sucli  should  ven- 
erate and  imitate  the  piety  of  their  pious  ancestors,  who 
Avere  providentially  led,  like  Moses  and  the  Israelites, 
from  oppression  and  bondage  to  this  land  of  deliverance 
— the  Canaan  in  the  Western  World  ! 

Pennsylvania,  too,  as  well  as  Massachusetts,  afforded 
an  asylum  to  many  hundreds  of  French  refugees,  or 
Huguenots.  These,  at  first  settling  in  England,  did  not 
find  that  kingdom  a  refuge  against  intolerance,  as  it  was 
then  governed  by  the  bigot  James  II.  In  the  year  1690, 
Maryland  also  received  a  large  number.  We  doubt  not 
that  these  French  emigrants,  as  was  always  the  custom, 
had  their  own  pastors  with  them;  but  in  all  our  re- 
searches we  have  discovered  no  such  fact.  Claude 
Philippe  de  Richebourg,  driven  from  his  native  land 
by  the  Edict  of  Revocation,  came  with  the  first  French 
colonists  to  Virginia.     Lands  were  given  to  them  on  the 


278  EARLIEST   CHUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

southern  bank  of  James  River,  some  twenty  miles  above 
Riclimoncl,  near  an  Indian  town  called  "Mannikin," 
and  lience  tlic  name  of  the  "Mannikin  To-\vni  Settle- 
ment," afterwards  the  "Parish  of  King  William."  A 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  still  occupies  the  spot,  and 
retains  its  Indian  name. 

In  the  year  1G90,  about  three  hundred  more  French 
refugee  families  increased  the  force  of  this  young  colony. 
The  next  year,  two  hundred  more  arrived,  followed 
shortly  by  one  hundred  other  families.  Virginia,  in 
1674,  decreed  them  the  title  of  citizens  ;*  and  by  an  act 
of  her  Legislature,  in  1700,  all  who  had  built  houses 
near  the  settlement  were  constituted  a  distinct  commu- 
nity, under  the  title  of  ' '  King  William' s  Parish. ' '  Privi- 
leges were  conferred  ujDon  them  to  remain  in  one  body  ; 
they  were  enfranchised  from  all  the  parochial  contribu- 
tions which  were  levied  upon  the  English  colonists.  So 
they  also  became  exempt  from  all  the  general  taxes  of 
the  province.  At  first,  this  last  favor  extended  only 
seven  years,  but  at  the  expiration  of  the  teim  it  was 
again  renewed.  De  Richebourg  remained  long  the 
guide  and  spiritual  counsellor  of  these  (Expatriated 
French  Protestants.  Dissensions,  however,  arising 
among  them,  he  restored  peace  by  conducting  a  part 
of  his  flock  into  North  Carolina,  and  establishing  them 
somewhere  upon  the  banks  of  the  Trent  River.  Hei-e, 
the  Indians  rising  and  massacring  the  whites  of  the 
neighborhood,  the  refugees  were  again  compelled  to 
abandon  the  lands  they  had  cleai^d,  and  emigrate  to 
South  Carolina. 

*  Dr.  Baird,  vol.  i.  p.  174. 


EAKLIE6T   CHTJKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  279 

Claude  Philippe  De  Ricliebourg  appears  to  have  been 
a  minister  of  deep  and  fervent  piety,  resigned  in  the 
midst  of  his  persecutions,  and,  af  the  same  time,  of  a 
serious  character,  strongly  modified  by  the  misfortunes 
and  poverty  of  his  lot  in  the  land  of  exile.  His  will 
was  written  in  the  French  language,  and  is  preserved  in 
the  public  archives  of  Charleston.  It  is  imbued  with 
the  genuine  spirit  of  a  true  Christian  believer,  submitting 
to  the  great  law  of  Providence,  steadfast  in  the  faith, 
and  triumphant  at  the  prospect  and  approach  of  his  last 
foe. 

Among  our  researches,  we  have  discovered  a  curious 
relic  of  the  Virginia  Huguenots.  It  is  a  manuscript  of 
some  twenty-five  pages,  written  in  French,  the  register 
of  the  baptisms  in  the  "Manakin  Town"  Church,  1721, 
"  Done  by  Jacques  Soblet,  Clerk."  The  curious  docu- 
ment remains  a  standing  evidence  of  the  fidelity  of  these 
French  Protestants  to  their  Christian  duties  and  ordi- 
nances.    We  copy  literally  a  few  of  the  entries  : 

"Le  1  Avril,  1740,  est  nee  Marie  Wottkins,  fille  de  Stephen  Wottking  et  ae 
Judith  sa  femme,  a  eu  pour  parrain  Wilhain  Hampton,  pour  marraincs  Magdelaine 
Chastain  et  Marie  Farsi.  Jean  Chastain." 

April  1st,  1740,  was  born  Mary,  daugliter  of  Stephen  Watkius,  and  Judith, 
his  wife.  She  had  for  godfather  William  Hampton ;  for  godmothers,  Llagdalon 
Chastain  and  Mary  Farsi.  Jean  Chasi'ain. 

"  Le  29  de  Janvier,  ll2:\-4,  mourut  le  Sieur  Antoine  Trabne,  ago  aupres  de 
cinquante  six  a  sept  annees:  fut  enterre  le  30  du  meme  mois. 

"J.  Soblet,  Cierk." 

January  20tli,  ]  72:1-4,  died  Sir  Anthony  Trabne,  aged  about  fifty-six  or  seven 
years.     He  was  buried  the  30th  of  the  same  month.  J.  Soblet,  Clerk. 

Some  of  the  Huguenot  names  extracted  from  this 
register  are:  " Monford,  Duj)uy,  Martain,  HaiTis,,Flour- 
noy.  Ford,  Bernard,  Porter,  Watkins,  Cocke,   Robin- 


280  EAELIEST  CIIUPvCIIES   IN   NEW   YOIIK. 

son,*  Edmoiid,  Stanford,  Sumptcr,  Jordin,  Pcio,  Deen 
Smith,^"  Williamson,'-  Brook, ^-  &c.,  &c." 

Negroes'  Names. -^Jaque,  Anibal,  Guillaume,  Jean, 
Pierre,  Olive,  Kobert,  Jay,  Susan,  Primus,  Moll,  Pe^gg, 
Nanny,  Tobie,  Dorote,  Agge,  Pompe,  Csesar,  Amy, 
Tom,  Cipio,  Bosen,  Sam,  Juxnter,  Tabb,  Cuffy,  Essex, 
Orange,  Robin,  Samson,  Pope,  Dina,  Fillis,  Ester,  Judy, 
Adam,  &c.,  &c.  The  historical  reader  may  find,  in  Bev- 
erly's History  of  Virginia,  a  very  interesting  account  of 

these  Mannikin  refugees "I  have  heard 

that  these  people  are  upon  a  design  of  getting  into  the 
breed  of  buffaloes,  to  Avhicli  end  they  lay  in  Avait  for 
their  calves,  that  they  may  tame  and  raise  stock  of  them  ; 
in  which,  if  they  succcckI,  it  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
greatly  for  their  advantage  ;  for  these  are  much  larger 
than  other  cattle,  and  have  the  benefit  of  being  natural 
to  the  climate.  They  now  make  many  of  their  own 
clothes,  and  are  resolved,  as  soon  as  they  have  improved 
that  manufacture,  to  apply  themselves  to  tlie  making  of 
wine  and  brandy,  which  they  do  not  doubt  to  bring  to 
perfection." 

From  the  early  Huguenot  stock,  in  Vii-ginia,  have 
descended  hundreds  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  Old 
Dominion— legislators,  public  officers,  and  ministers. 
From  one  family  alone,  the  Rev.  John  Fontaine,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Hawks  estimates  the  descendants  and  rela- 
tions at  not  less  than  two  thousand  ! 

He  was  a  Calvinistic  clergyman,  and,  expelled  from 
France,  iirst  preached  to  his  refugee  brethren  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland.     Dr.  Hawks  has  published  the  life  of 

*  Eu"-lish  i;amcs  doul)tl'jss  introduced  by  incorninrria.£ce. 


EARLIEST  CHUECHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  281 

this  remarkable,  energetic  man,  a  small  volume  full  of 
interest/'-  He  was  a  true  sample  of  a  true  Huguenot. 
An  exile  in  England,  ignorant  of  its  language,  and  un- 
accustomed to  labor,  lie  soon  accommodated  liimself  to 
new  circumstances— by  his  own  genius  soon  became  a 
skilful  artisan.  He  opened  a  little  store,  with  a  school 
also,  at  the  same  time  continuing  to  preach  in  French. 
In  1695,  he  removed  to  Cork,  to  unite  with  some  refu- 
gees, who  had  formed  a  church  in  that  Irish  city.  And 
here  he  set  a  bright  example  to  the  flock  of  the  most 
exemplary  piety  and  good  conduct. 

In  his  new  home  he  was  able  to  give  his  children 
excellent  educations,  three  entering  college,  and  one  be- 
came a  British  officer.  Peter  received  ordination  from 
the  Bishop  of  London,  and  with  Moses,  who  studied 
law,  both  emigrated  to  Virginia  in  171G.  There  were 
two  daughters.  The  eldest,  Mary  Anne,  married  Mat- 
thew Mauray,  a  Protestant  refugee  from  Gascony,  in 
1716,  the  next  year  joining  his  relations  in  this  country. 

His  son  was  the  Rev.  James  Mauray,  of  Albemarle, 
Virginia,  and  a  very  estimable  and  useful  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Francis,  another  son,  in  1719, 
was  also  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  on  the  par- 
ticular recommendation  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
when  he  sailed  for  Virginia.  Here  he  became  a  very 
eloquent  and  popular  preacher,  settling  in  St.  Margaret's 
Parish,  King  William  County. 

The  sacred  office  in  this  useful  French  family  seemed, 
as  it  were,  hereditar}^  from  father  to  sons.     It  is  a  well- 

*  "  A  Tale  of  the  Huguenots  ;  oi-,  Memoirs  of  a  French  Refugee  Family:  with 
an  Introduction,"'  b}'-  F.  L.  Hawks,  D.  D. 


282  EARLIEST   CIIURCnES   IN"   ^YAV    YORK. 

known  liistorical  fact,  that  about  the  tmie  of  Louis  XIV., 
there  were  formed,  as  among  the  ancient  Hebrews,  races 
of  priestliood,  sucli  as  the  Delprats,  of  Montauban,  the 
Saurins,  of  Nismes,'"  &c.,  &c. 

What  Vandal-like  and  entire  destruction  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches  in  France  followed  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  !  On  the  same  day  of  its  registra- 
tion, the  destruction  of  the  magnificent  temple  at  Cha- 
renton,  capable  of  holding  fourteen  thousand  persons, 
was  commenced.  In  five  short  days  afterward,  no  traces 
of  the  immense  edifice  remained  !  A  frantic  mob,  armed 
with  axes,  mattocks,  and  levers,  visited  otlier  places — 
Caen,  Nismes,  etc.,  and  amidst  the  flourish  of  trumpets 
and  shouts  of  joy,  tlieir  Protestant  churches  fell  in  de- 
struction. Cheyron,  the  minister  of  tlie  last-named,  pro- 
nounced its  final  discourse,  moving  his  hearers  to  tears 
when  he  affirmed  before  God  that  he  had  preached  the 
truth  according  to  the  Gospel,  and  exhorted  them  to 
persevere  in  the  faith  unto  death.  Nismes'  sacred  tem- 
ple was  soon  a  mere  heap  of  ruins ;  and  in  the  midst 
could  long  be  seen  a  single  stone  with  this  inscription : 
"  Here  is  the  liouse  of  God  :  here  is  the  gate  of  heaven." 

Thus  the  Reformers  of  France  saw  the  fall  of  eiglit 
hundred  sacred  temples  they  had  possessed.  Such 
severities  bore  their  jDroper  fruit,  and  the  Reformed 
tliought  of  nothing  but  quitting  tlieir  native  land.  The 
ministers  went  first.  But  to  simple  laymen  mnigration 
was  forbidden  under  most  severe  penalties.  These  i)re- 
cautions,  however,  were  vain  and  useless.  The  barba- 
rous cruelties  did  not  diminish  the  emigration.     All  who 

*  Weisa's  French  ProtcstautRei'uf'ees. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  283 

hated  servitude  hastened  to  flee  from  the  soil  of  France. 
As  we  have  already  seen,  thousands  came  to  Massachu- 
setts, New  York,  and  Virginia  ;  and  now  crowds  flocked 
to  South  Carolina  for  a  new,  safe,  and  quiet  home.  Theii" 
flrst  arrival  coincides  with  that  of  the  earliest  English 
colonists  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  In  South  Caro- 
lina they  were  placed  on  freeholders'  rights,  and  a  foot- 
ing of  entire  equality  with  the  English  settlers.  From 
1680  to  1687,  from  two  to  three  thousand  Huguenots 
emigrated  to  South  Carolina ;  some  arrived  after  a  short 
sojourn  in  New  York,  the  warmer  climate  of  the  South 
presenting  peculiar  inducements  to  the  numerous  exiles 
of  Languedoc,  so  that  this  region  was  called  the  ' '  Home 
of  the  Huguenots  in  the  New  World." 

They  founded  four  congregations  and  churches — one 
at  Jamestown,  on  the  Santee  ;  one  at  St.  John' s,  Berke- 
ley ;  one  at  St.  Dennis  ;  and  one  in  Charleston.  The 
first  three  ultimately  conformed  to  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  while  the  last  maintains  its  distinctive 
character  to  this  day,  excepting  the  use  of  the  French 
language.  One  thousand  French  emigrants  embarked 
for  South  Carolina  from  the  ports  of  Holland  alone. 
These  expeditions  left  Rotterdam,  touching  in  England, 
on  the  voyage  to  America.  In  1687,  the  Lord  Commis- 
sioner of  James  II.,  by  the  royal  bounty,  sent  six  hun- 
dred English  and  French  emigrants  to  Carolina. 

James  Pierre  Perry,  of  Neufchatel,  also  emigrated 
with  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  Protestant  families 
from  Switzerland,  To  this  company  the  British  Gov- 
ernment liberally  granted  forty  thousand  acres  of  land, 
with  four  pounds  sterlhig  to  each  adult.     During  1699, 


284  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

three  hundred  French  Protestants  left  France  for  con- 
science' sake,  at  first  settling  in  Virginia,  but  soon  join- 
ing their  brethren  of  South  Carolina.  In  the  years 
1711-33  and  '40,  others  came  oyer  from  Holland  ;  and  in 
1752,  sixteen  hundred  more  Landed  at  Charleston.  Jean 
Louis  Gibert  arrived  with  a  large  congregation  of 
Iluguc^nots,  having  a  church  of  two  hundred  members, 
settling  in  the  townshii:)S  of  New  Bordeaux,  New  Ro- 
chelle,  in  the  Abbey ville  district. '••  They  named  their 
settlement  New  Bordeaux,  in  remembrance  of  the  capi- 
tal Guyenne,  their  former  home.  In  1705  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  were  granted  to  Rene  Ravenel,  Barthelemy 
Guillard,  and  Henry  Baeneau.  It  embraced  one  hun- 
dred French  families  and  a  church  ;  their  first  imstor 
was  Pierre  Robert,  and  from  that  period  they  became 
the  most  fiourishing  colony  of  French  refugees  in  South 
Carolina,  t 

Some  settled  upon  the  western  branch  of  the  Cooper 
River,  having  for  their  first  minister  Florent  Philippe 
Trouillart.  In  1782,  there  were  not  less  than  sixteen 
thousand  foreign  Protestants  in  South  Carolina,  and 
most  of  them  French.  One  writer  adds:  "They  live 
like  a  tribe,  like  one  family.  Each  one  makes  it  a  rule 
to  assist  his  compatriot  in  his  need,  and  to  w^atch  over 
his  fortun(3  and  his  reputation  with  the  same  care  as  his 
OAvn." 

At  this  period  in  our  national  history,  at  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  English  America  had  only  a 
population  of  two  hundred  thousand,  and  the  refugees 
formed  a  most  important  part.     Tlunr  generous  blood 

*  Early  Hist.,  Ilosby,  S.  C.         \  Dr.  Ramsey. 


EARLIEST  CHUKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  285 

flowed  in  the  veins  of  a  multitude  of  families  when  the 
war  of  Independence  broke  out.*  The  enemies  of  politi- 
cal despotism  and  religious  intolerance,  they  increased 
the  love  of  liberty  among  the  other  colonies.  Wrong  as 
the}^  now  are,  at  that  important  moment  they  ran  to  arms, 
and  supported  the  American  Revolution  with  the  energy 
and  bravery  of  their  noble  and  pious  ancestors.  None 
were  more  patriotic  or  ardently  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
libert}^,  or  more  eloquent  in  the  national  councils,  or 
more  heroic  on  the  battle-field,  than  these  descendants  of 
the  French  Protestants. 

During  the  reign  of  James  II.,  a  number  of  English- 
men, fearing  the  restoration  of  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion, emigrated  to  South  Carolina,  accompanied  by  many 
Huguenots.  These  had  taken  refuge  in  England,  but 
wished  to  withdraw  themselves  from  the  uncertain,  pre- 
carious protection  of  a  king  who  was  openly  attached  to 
the  Popish  Church.  In  our  land,  all  found  a  home  ;  and 
although,  at  the  moment,  the  English  form  of  worship 
was  the  prevailing,  still,  the  tolerance  of  Lord  Sliaftes- 
bury  here  opened  a  resting-place  to  all  Christians. 
"Here  it  was,"  says  Bancroft,  "that  the  Calvinist 
exiles  could  celebrate  their  worshij)  without  fear,  in  the 
midst  of  the  forests,  and  mingle  the  voice  of  their  psalms 
with  the  murmur  of  the  winds  which  sighed  among  the 
mighty  oaks."  Their  first  church  was  at  Charleston, 
and  they  could  be  seen  every  Sunday  repairing  there, 
by  families,  in  light  canoes,  from  the  plantations,  to  wor- 
ship God  without  any  fear  or  molestation. 

This  church,  erected  at  an  early  date,  was  burned  in 

*  Dr.  Ramsey. 


286  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

1740,  and  again  during  1796,  but  rebuilt,  and  it  has  been 
the  object  of  pious  liberality,  and  well  endowed  by  the 
French  refugees  scattered  through  South  Carolina. 

Its  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Elias  Prioleau,  the  grand- 
son of  Antoine  Proli,  Doge  of  Venice  in  1618.  Forced 
to  k^ave  France  after  the  Revocation,  he  emigrated  from 
the  fertile  region  of  Saintonge,  with  a  part  of  his  evan- 
gelical flock,  to  Charleston,  Avhere  his  descendants  are 
still  said  to  be  found.  Prioleau  was  not  only  an  elo- 
quent preacher,  but  also  a  writer  of  merit.  His  descend- 
ants possess  manuscripts  of  his  Avorks,  which  testify  of 
an  elegant  style,  vigor  of  mind,  and  purity  of  doctrine.* 

The  Huguenots  of  South  Carolina  were  distinguished, 
as  they  were  elsewhere,  for  their  sympathy  to  the  suffer- 
ing. Gabriel  Manigault,  so  well  known  in  their  history, 
and  the  creator  of  his  own  fortune,  always  exhib- 
ited cliarity  to  the  poor,  and  he  even  refused  to  in- 
crease his  wealth  by  the  commerce  in  slaves,  at  that 
time  so  lucrative.  At  his  death  he  l)equeathed  five  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling  to  educate  indigent  children  at 
Charleston.! 

Isaac  Mazocq,  another  refugee,  donated  a  part  of  his 
patrimony  to  the  religious  and  charitable  institutions  of 
that  city,  where  he  had  taken  uj)  his  abode,  and,  at  his 
death,  he  left  one  hundred  pounds  to  the  Huguenot 
church  there.  Philip  Gendron,  also,  bequeathed  a  part 
of  his  fortune  "for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  that  church,  so 
long  as  it  shall  continues  to  be  of  the  Reformed  faith." 
We  have  visited  this  time-honored,  sacred  spot,  in  the 
city  of  Charleston,  and  strolled  among  its  venerable, 

*  Prcsb.,  Feb.  2:?,  18G0.  \  Rnmsoy. 


EARLIEST   CnURCnES   IN   NEW   YORK.  287 

heaped-up  graves,  many  of  wliicli  still  remain.  What 
hallowing  associations  linger  around  sucli  an  impressive 
place!  Long  since  have  the  early  Huguenots  to  "La 
Carolina"  ceased  to  occupy  its  humble  open  seats  ;  bat 
in  the  day  of  which  we  are  writing,  this  tabernacle  was 
crowded  with  the  prayers  and  melodies  of  faithful 
French  Protestants,  and  in  the  same  language  used  by 
Claude,  Saurin,  and  their  congregations  a  century  before. 
More  recently,  the  old  temple  has  been  taken  down,  and 
a  beautiful  new  edifice  erected  in  its  place.  But  the 
congregation  carefully  preserves  some  of  its  evidences  of 
the  "  olden  time."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Rosser,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  South,  infonned  the  writer  that 
he  was  invited  on  one  occasion  to  preach  in  this  new 
house  of  Huguenot  worship.  He  is  himself  an  eloquent 
descendant  of  the  Virginia  Huguenots.  When  prepar- 
ing to  enter  the  pulpit,  from  the  vestry,  the  "  anciens," 
or  elders,  robed  him  in  an  old,  worn,  threadbare  clerical 
gown.  Perceiving  his  surprise,  they  remarked  that  this 
venerable  and  sacred  mantle  had  been  used  by  their 
early  Huguenot  pastor,  and,  when  placed  upon  any 
stranger,  the  congregation  considered  it  as  a  mark  of 
especial  affection  and  honor. 

The  Charleston  church  alone,  in  our  land,  has  main- 
tained until  this  day  the  Huguenot  Calvinistic  Liturgy 
in  its  primitive  purit}^,  with  public  worship  according 
to  the  usages  of  the  primitive  French  Protestant 
Churches.  The  language  only  of  its  earliest  founders 
has  been  dispensed  with.  Its  present  pastor  is  the  Rev. 
Mr.  White,  formerly  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  on 
Staten  Island. 


2o3  EARLIEST   CIIUUCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

The  Charleston  Huguenot  church  uses  a  Liturgy  in 
its  public  services,  a  copy  of  which  lies  before  me, 
politely  furnished  by  Daniel  Ravenel,  Esq.,  one  of  its 
authorized  compilers.  It  is  the  "Liturgy  of  the  French 
Protestant  Church,  translated  from  the  editions  of  1737 
and  1772,  published  at  Neufchatel,  with  additional 
prayers,  carefully  selected,  and  some  alterations  ;  ar- 
ranged for  the  use  of  the  congregation  in  the  city  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Charleston :  printed  by 
James  S.  Burgess,  1836."  According  to  its  preface, 
Joseph  Manigault,  George  W.  Cross,  and  Daniel  Ravenel 
were  appointed  a  committee  on  the  translation  of  this 
Liturgy,  and  presented  the  work  on  Sunday,  October 
23,  1836,  as  the  result  of  their  labors.  It  was  princi]3ally 
compiled  and  translated  from  a  French  quarto  copy, 
formerly  used  in  the  pulpit  of  this  congregation.  The 
work  containing  no  burial-service,  one  was  added  from 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  omitting  the  Rubrics.  Neither  were  there  any 
"Occasional  Prayers  and  Thanksgivings,''  which  now 
were  obtained  in  part  from  the  same  book,  and  a  French 
work  printed  at  Amsterdam,  1763,  entitled  ' '  A  Liturgy 
for  the  Protestants  of  France  ;  or  Prayers  for  the*  Families 
of  the  Faithful,  Dc^prived  of  the  Public  Exercise  of  their 
Religion  :  with  a  Preliminary  Discourse." 

Only  one  entire  prayer  was  composed  for  the  work, 
the  original  of  which  was  found  among  the  papers  of 
the  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Grimk(^,  after  his  lamented  death. 
The  translation  was  made  b}^  Elias  Hony,  George  W. 
Cross,  and  Mr.  Grimke,  the  first  and  last  of  wliicli  gen- 
tlemen did  not  live  to  see  the  Liturgy  printed,  although 


NORTj[  Refokmid  Dutch  Chukch,  Corner  of  William  and  Filton  Sts. 


EAIILIEST  CIIUROnES   IN   NEW   YORK.  289 

completed  before  they  died.  We  have  been  thus  par- 
ticular in  our  reference  to  this-  Huguenot  church,  as  it 
is  the  only  standing  monument  in  our  whole  land  of  the 
religious  principles  and  worship  which  brought  the 
French  Protestants  to  this  New  World.  In  every  other 
place,  the  descendants  of  these  French  refugees  have 
long  since  united  with  other  evangelical  sects.  Origin- 
ally, four  French  Protestant  congregations  existed  in 
South  Carolina ;  but  three  of  their  number  conformed 
to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  were  then  sup- 
ported by  the  public  funds.  This  Charleston  church 
alone  sustains  its  original  distinctive  character. 

After  all  our  inquiries,  we  have  been  able  to  collect 
very  little  historical  information  concerning  the  early 
Huguenot  preachers  of  South  Carolina,  and  hence  we 
have  indulged  in  more  general  views  than  otherwise 
would  have  been  the  case.  Still,  they  have  a  value  and 
importance  upon  the  subject  of  our  early  American 
Church  history,  and  we  gladly  add  this  mite  of  ours  to 
aid  the  important  subject. 
19 


290  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

80UTH0LD  TFIE  FIRST  SETTLED  TOWN  ON  LONG  ISLAND  (1640),  REV.  J. 
YOUNGS,  PASTOR HIS  SUCCESSORS JAMES  DAVENPORT  AN  ENTHU- 
SIAST, BUT  REFORMS SOUTHAMPTON  CHURCH   BUILT   1640 REV.  MR. 

PIERSON THE  "PLANTATION  COVENANT*' THE  REFORMERS  EMIGRATE 

TO  NEWARK,  NEW  JERSEY MINISTERS  OF    SOUTHAMPTON SALARIES 

BRIDGEIIAMPTON  PARISH MINISTERS BROOKHAVEN  THE  LARGEST 

TOWN REV.  N,  BREWSTER   AND  SUCCESSORS EASTHAMPTON  SETTLED 

BY  PURITANS  (1G4S) STRICT  LAWS VOTING THOMAS  JAMES,  EAR- 
LIEST   PASTOR HIS     SINGULAR    DYING     REQUEST REV.     N.    HATTING 

DR.     BUEL     PREACHED     TEN     THOUSAND     SERMONS DR.      LYMAN 

BEECHER  THE  FOURTH  PASTOR. 

Some  imagine  that  Long  Island  at  one  period  was  a 
part  of  Connecticut,  and  subsequently  separated  by  the 
irruption  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  forming  the  present 
"  Sound."  Into  this  geological  question  it  is  not  neces- 
sary for  us  to  enter.  Still,  the  churches  on  Long  Island, 
except  those  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Amsterdam,  were 
founded  by  Connecticut  men  and  preachers. 

Southold  was  the  tirst  town  settled  on  the  island,  and 
in  the  year  1640,  its  earliest  settlers  coming  from  New 
Haven.  They  were  mostly  Englishmen,  from  Norfolk- 
shire,  who  had  spent  a  short  time  in  the  New  Haven 
colony.  The  Rev.  John  Youngs,  their  pastor,  came  with' 
them,  organizing  their  church.  He  was  an  excellent 
man,  died  in  1G72,  and  his  descendants  are  now  nu- 
merous on  Long  Island.  Nc^xt,  a  committee  went  to 
Boston  for  ''an  hon(\st  and  godly  minister,"     Such  was 


EARLIEST   CHTJECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  291 

their  instruction  ;  and  what  a  pity  is  it  that  such  a  good 
desire  does  not  satisfy  the  people  of  our  day  !  They 
obtained  the  Rev.  Joshua  Hohart,  who  died  in  1717, 
aged  eighty-eight  years.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Woolsey 
became  the  third  pastor,  in  the  year  1720,  but  removed 
during  1736. 

Next  among  the  Southold  pastors  came  the  Rev.  James 
Davenport,  of  remarkable  history.  He  was  born  at 
Stamford,  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1710,  graduating  at 
Yale  College,  1732,  and  ordained  at  Southold,  1738. 
Pious  and  ardent  while  at  college,  he  became  intimate 
with  a  wild  enthusiast,  named  Lewis,  who  professed  to 
know  the  will  of  God  in  all  things,  had  led  a  sinless  life 
for  six  years,  and  claimed  a  higher  seat  in  heaven  than 
even  Moses  himself.  He  particularly  professed  to  know 
that  not  one  in  ten  of  all  the  New  Haven  church  mem- 
bers could  be  saved.  He  afterwards  turned  a  Quaker 
preacher. 

Davenport,  embracing  many  of  his  fanatical  notions, 
imagined  that  God  had  revealed  to  him  the  coming  of 
His  •  kingdom  in  great  power,  and  also  that  he  was 
especially  called  to  labor  for  its  advancement.  On  one 
occasion,  he  addressed  his  ^Deople  for  nearly  twenty-four 
successive  hours,  until  he  was  quite  wild.  Like  all 
religious  enthusiasts,  his  zeal  soon  became  unrestrained, 
setting  at  naught  all  the  rules  of  Christian  prudence  and 
order.  He  headed  his  followers,  in  procession,  whilst 
singing  psalms  and  hymns  through  the  streets.  A  great 
advocate  of  trances  and  visions,  he  esteemed  such  in- 
ward impulses  and  feelings  the  rule  of  duty  for  himself 
and  others. 


292  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YOHK. 

Mr.  Davenport  also  indulged  anotlicr  striking  charac- 
teristic of  religions  enthusiasts ;  he  sat  in  judgment  on 
the  character  of  other  ministers,  often  declaring  them  to 
be  in  an  unconverted  state.  He  told  the  j)eople  that 
they  might  as  well  eat  ratsbane  as  hear  such  unregene- 
rated  preachers !  Against  pride  in  dress  he  severely 
declaimed,  styling  it  idolatry ;  and  in  New  London,  on 
one  occasion,  he  kindled  a  large  fire,  and  burned  costly 
garments,  with  ornaments  and  many  good  books,  and 
among  them  Flavel  and  Bishoi3  Beveridge'  s  works,  as 
heretical.  Confusion  and  dissensions  in  the  churches 
were  the  bitter  fruits  which  followed  these  delusions. 

Davenport,  however,  at  length  saw  the  evil  and 
folly  of  his  fanatical  ways,  and  by  a  j)ublic  confession 
renounced  them.  In  the  year  1746,  dismissed  from 
Southold,  lie  settled  in  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  where 
he  died,  1757,  aged  forty-seven. 

SOUTHAMPTON. 

The  church  at  this  place  was  erected  at  the  same  time 
with  the  one  in  Southold  (1040),  and  these  two  were  the 
first  sanctuaries  of  the  Lord  within  the  entire  Province 
of  New  Netherland ;  they  were  founded  two  years 
before  (1642)  the  Old  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  the 
fort  at  tlie  Battery,  and  built  by  Governor  Kieft.  A 
company  of  eight  men,  called  "  undertakers,"  settled 
Southampton,  and  this  number  was  increased  to  sixteen, 
before  the  emigrants  left  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  among  them 
was  the  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  of  Boston,  their  first 
minister.    The  records  of  their  early  laAVs  Jiave  b(M'n  pre- 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  293 

served,  and  tliey  are  quite  as  remarkable  as  the  famous 
"Blue  Laws''  of  NeAV  England. 

Mr.  Pierson  belonged  to  that  school  believing  that  all 
civil  government,  as  well  as  ecclesiastical,  Avas  vested  in 
the  Church  ;  so  that  church  members  only  should  hold 
public  office,  or  vote  in  the  community.  When  this 
new  colony  was  incorporated.  Lord  Sterling  gave  the 
settlers  privilege  to  regulate  those  matters  according  to 
their  own  peculiar  notions.  Idolatry,  witchcraft,  her- 
esy, blasjDhemy,  and  smiting  or  cursing  parents,  were 
punished  with  death.  Profane  swearing  received  either 
stripes,  branding  with  a  hot  iron,  or  boring  through  the 
tongue,  as  "he  hath  bored  and  pierced  God's  name." 
Mr.  Pierson,  having  served  the  church  four  years  at 
Southampton,  removed  to  Beaufort,  Conn.,  some  of  his 
people  going  with  him,  where  he  ministered  twenty - 
three  years.  His  labors  were  very  useful  in  promoting 
religion  and  education  among  the  Indians. 

In  the  year  166G,  Mr.  Pierson,  with  most  of  his  con- 
gregation and  many  j)rominent  persons  from  Guilford, 
New  Haven,  and  Milford,  signed  a  "Plantation  Cove- 
nant," to  remove  where  they  could  maintain  their  no- 
tions of  Church  government,  now  impracticable  in  the 
Connecticut  colony.  Emigrating  to  New  Jerse}',  the 
reformers  selected  a  spot  for  their  settlement,  calling  it 
"New  Ark,"  which  is  now  the  beautiful  city  of  New- 
ark. Here  tliey  made  laws  and  customs  after  their  own 
notions  and  hearts,  and  planted  the  seeds  of  good  order 
and  industry,  the  fruits  of  which  the  peojDle  of  that  place 
enjoy  to  the  present  day,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  two 
hundred  years.     He  died  on  the  9tli  of  August,  1G78. 


294  EARLIEST   CJII]rvCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

His  son  Abraliam,  for  some  time  associated  with  liim  in 
the  pastoral  charge  at  Newark,  became  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  Yale  College. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Fordham,  John  Heinman,  and  Jo- 
seph Taylor  succeeded  Mr.  Pierson  in  the  pulpit  at 
Southampton.  Mr,  Taylor  cam(^  in  the  year  1G80,  the 
people  promising  a  salary  of  one  hundred  pounds,  with 
a  parsonage  ;  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land, 
"  commonage,"  Avith  one  hundred  also  in  the  woods,  to 
him  and  his  heirs  forever.  The  salary  was  to  be  paid 
in  winter  wheat  at  five  shillings  a  bushel ;  summer,  four 
shillings  sixpence  ;  Indian  corn,  two  shillings  sixpence  ; 
beef,  forty  shillings  per  cwt.  ;  tallow,  threepence  per 
pound ;  green  hides,  threepence ;  whalebone,  eight- 
pence  ;  and  oil,  thirty  shillings  a  barrel.  Such  were  the 
prices  of  these  staples  a  century  and  three-quarters  ago. 
Whales  were  then  caught  in  the  waters  of  Long  Island 
Sound,  and  this  became  a  leading  business  Avith  the 
settlers.  These  articles  for  the  minister's  support  were 
all  to  be  good,  merchantable,  and  collected  by  the  con- 
stable. We  imagine  that  all  the  clergymen  now  labor- 
ing on  Long  Island  are  not  as  well  supported  as  this 
reverend  gentleman  was,  as  far  back  as  1680. 

In  the  year  1792,  the  Rev.  Herman  Dogget  was  settled 
in  Southampton,  a  preacher  of  fine  talents  and  character, 
and  although  social  and  cheerful,  it  is  stated  that  he  was 
never  known  to  laugh.* 

Bridgehampton  parish  is  six  miles  east  of  the  old 
Southampton  church,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  length 

*  Rev.  S.  I.  Prime's  Early  Ministers  of  Long  Island. 


EARLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  295 

of  time  its  j)a,stors  served  the  congregation.  In  1695, 
the  Rev.  Ebenezer  White  was  the  first  settled,  remain- 
ing fifty-three  years,  and  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four,  in  1756.  Rev.  James  Brown,  the  next  pastor,  set- 
tled in  1748,  resigning  1775,  and  resided  here  until  his 
death,  in  1788.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  this 
congregation  had  no  preacher.  After  this  the  Rev. 
Aaron  Woohvorth  came,  in  1787.  He  died  in  the  year 
1821,  aged  fifty-eight  years,  and  the  thirty-fourth  of  his 
sacred  ofiice.  These  three  faithful  men  ministered  to 
this  Long  Island  church  a  period  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  years,  from  1695  to  1821.  Greatly  to  their 
praise,  it  is  said,  that  this  congregation  never  dismissed 
a  minister.  The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Amri  Francis, 
who  died  in  1845,  after  a  useful  pastorate  of  twenty-two 
years.  His  death  was  very  triumphant,  remarking  dur- 
ing his  final  hours,  that  he  had  "never  conceived  it 
possible,  in  this  mortal  state,  to  have  such  views  of  the 
heavenly  world  as  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy."  Dr. 
Woolworth'  s  name  to  this  day  remains  a  sweet  savor  in 
that  region,  and  will  long  continue  so. 

Brookhaven,  the  largest  town  in  Long  Island,  was  first 
settled  by  fifty  "planters"  at  Setauket,  a  place  so  called 
from  the  Indian  tribe  formerly  occupying  the  region. 
The  Rev.  Nathaniel  Brewster,  having  three  sons  among 
the  settlers,  visited  them  and  remained  as  minister  of  the 
place.  Thus  he  continued  forty-five  years,  and  died  in 
1690,  aged  seventy.  He  was  a  remarkable  man ;  a 
grandson  of  Elder  Brewster,  of  the  famed  "May- 
Flower,"  and  pastor  of  the  "Pilgrim  Fathers."  It  is 
also  said  that  he  was  a  graduate  in  the  first  class  of  Har- 


206  EARLIEST  CHUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

vard  University,  and  probably  the  first  native  graduate 
in  tlie  New  AVorld. 

Tlie  Rev.  George  Phillips  was  the  next  minister,  and, 
when  ordained,  the  town  of  Brookhaven  voted  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  to  him,  in  fee,  with  two  hundred 
acres  more,  if  he  would  i)reach  there  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Such  offers,  or  bribes,  we  may  add,  are  rare  now.  The 
Rev.  David  Youngs  and  Rev.  Benjamin  Talmage  were 
the  next  pastors,  the  latter  ordained  in  1754. 

Eastharapton  was  settled  by  some  families  from  Lynn 
and  other  Massachusetts  towns,  in  the  year  1648.  They 
were  stern  Puritans,  with  peculiar  and  strict  laws.  In 
1651,  we  find  the  following  enactment:  " ISToe  man  shall 
sell  any  liquor,  but  such  as  are  deputed  thereto  by  the 
town,  and  such  shall  not  lette  youth  and  those  under 
authority  remaine  drinlving  at  unreasonable  hours  ;  and 
such  persons  shall  not  have  more  than  half  a  pint  among 
four  men."  A  wise  and  excellent  enactment!  Unto  a 
false  witness,  it  was  ordained,  that  it  should  be  done/* 
unto  him  as  "he  had  thought  to  do  unto  his  neighbour, 
whatever  it  be,  to  the  taking  away  of  life,  limb,  or 
goods." 

Notwithstanding  all  these  pious  efforts  of  these  good 
people  to  secure  religious  institutions  at  the  commence- 
ment of  their  settlement,  wickedness  abounded.  Very 
early  in  their  history,  "a  woman  was  sentenced  to  ];)ay 
a  fine  of  three  pounds,  or  stand  one  hour  witli  a  S2)lit 
stick  on  her  tongue,  for  saying  that  lier  husband  had 
brought  her  to  a  place  where  there  was  neither  Gospel 
or  magistracy."  The  Easthamptoners  have  been  cele- 
brated for  their  unity  of  sentiment  in  politics  and  reli- 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  297 

gion.  When  j)arty  questions  became  so  violent,  about 
the  beginning  of  tlie  present  century,  only  two  dissent- 
ing votes  were  generally  given  at  the  polls,  and  these 
were  cast  by  Sag  Harbor  men,  living  just  over  the  town 
line.  We  do  not  believe  the  old  saying,  however,  that 
the  people  of  Suffolk  continue  to  vote  for  Tom  Jefferson 
every  four  years  !  Their  religious  unity  has  been  most 
remarkable.  Until  visitors  made  Easthampton  a  fashion- 
able resort  in  summer,  the  place  had  but  one  house  of 
worship  for  almost  two  hundred  years,  with  very  few 
professors  of  religion,  except  the  ' '  standing  order' '  of 
Presbyterians. 

The  earliest  pastor  in  Easthampton  was  the  Rev. 
Thomas  James.  He  came  with  the  first  settlers,  or  very 
soon  followed  them.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of 
talent  and  very  eccentric.  A  pastor  forty-four  years,  he 
left  an  injunction  at  his  death,  that  his  body  should  be 
buried  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  graveyard,  his  head 
towards  the  east,  while  people  generally  are  laid  with 
their  heads  to  the  west.  This  strange  direction  was 
complied  with,  and  he  gave  this  reason  for  it :  That  he 
desired  on  the  morning  of  the  Resurrection  to  arise  with 
his  face  towards  his  congregation.  His  tombstone  may 
still  be  seen — now  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
years  old — with  this  legend  : 

MR.  THOMAS  JAifES, 

Dyed  the  IGth  day  op  June,  in  the  yeare  1696. 

He  was  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  and  pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Rev.  ISTathaniel  Huntling  succeeded  him,  serving  this 
congregation  fifty-three  years,  and  died  in  1753,  at  the 


298  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

advanced  age  of  eighty.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Biiol,  J).  D., 
the  third  pastor,  Avas  ordained  in  the  year  1746,  Presi- 
dent EdAvards  preaching  the  ordination  sermon.  He 
Avas  an  abh^  divine,  excellent  pastor,  and  poAverful  in  the 
pulj)it.  In  1798  he  finished  his  useful  course,  almost 
eighty-tAVO  years  old,  and  nearly  fifty-tAVO  the  pastor  of 
this  church.  Its  three  first  ministers  labored  here  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Dr.  Buel  delivered  ten 
thousand  sermons.  One  Avriter  mentions  that  a  Aveakness 
of  his  Avas  to  marry  a  young  Avife  in  his  old  age !  He 
must  have  been  very  free  from  the  infirmities  of  liuman 
nature  if  this  is  the  only  evidence  of  Aveakness. 

Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  Avas  the  fourth  pastor  of  East- 
hampton,  and  ordained  here  in  1799.  His  zeal,  talents, 
and  fervent  piety,  in  every  respect  fitted  him  to  succeed 
Dr.  Buel,  and,  remaining  ten  years,  he  left  an  unpres- 
sion  still  enduring. 


EARLIEST  CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  299 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CIIURCIIES     ON     LONG     ISLAND,    CONTINUED HUNTINGTOl^T — REV.     MR. 

JONES      FIRST     MINISTER REV.     EBENEZER     PRIME     HIS     ASSISTANT, 

THEN     SOLE     PASTOR CONGREGATION     MUCH     DISPERSED     BY     THE 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR — OUTRAGES  OF  THE  ENEMY,  AND  PERMITTED 
BY  COLONEL  THOMPSON PATRIOTISM  OF  MR.  PRIME THE  IN- 
DIANS  REV.    MR.      LEVERICH      PREACHES     TO     THEM     (1653) REV. 

A.    HORTON    ORDAINED    TO     LABOR    AMONG    THEM A    FAITHFUL    MAN 

'- — HIS  JOURNAL BRAINARD SAMSON  OCCUM,  THE  MOHEGAN  IN- 
DIAN  HIS     ZEAL    AND     LABORS A    POET EXTRACTS PETER    JOHN, 

ANOTHER  NATIVE  CONVERT  AND  PREACHER PAUL  CUFFEE,  AN- 
OTHER  HIS      TOMBSTONE      AND      INSCRIPTION DISAPPEARANCE      OF 

THE    INDIANS    ON    LONG    ISLAND. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  from  Connecticut,  began  to  preach 
at  Huntington,  Long  Island,  in  tlie  year  1676.  In  this 
parish,  he'  served  God  and  the  people  over  half  a  cen- 
tury, and  died  June  5tli,  1731,  in  his  ninety-first  year 
He  was  a  man  of  great  purity  and  simplicity  of  manners, 
a  faithful  and  successful  preacher.  Rev.  Bbenezer 
Prime  was  born  in  Milford,  Connecticut,  in  1700,  and 
graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1718,  and  the  next  year, 
became  an  assistant  to  Mr.  Jones  in  the  Huntington 
church.  Here  he  afterwards  continued  the  sole  pastor, 
till  increasing  age  rendered  an  assistant  necessary.  The 
Rev.  John  Close  was  settled  with  him  in  1766,  and  after 
seven  years'  services  was  dismissed,  1773,  when  Mr. 
Prime  was  left  alone  in  his  pastoral  duties.  The  strug- 
gle for  Independence  now  coming  on,  the  congregation 


300  EARLIEST   CIIUKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

became  much  broken  up,  and  the  aged  pastor  was  com- 
pelled to  fl}^  from  home  Avith  his  family,  by  the  British 
and  Tories.  They  hid  their  silver  plate  in  a  well,  and, 
thus  secured,  it  has  been  handed  down  as  a  kind  of 
"heirloom"  to  the  descendants.  Long  Island  suffered 
severely  from  the  ravages  of  the  common  foe,  but  no 
town  more  so  than  Huntington.  The  church  pews  torn 
up,  the  sacred  edifice  was  converted  into  a  military 
depot,  and  afterwards  entirely  pulled  down  ;  the  timber 
was  used  to  construct  barracks  and  block-houses.  To 
outrage  the  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  still  more,  level- 
ling the  graves,  the  enemy  erected  some  of  their  build- 
ings in  the  burying-ground,  and  used  tombstones  for 
ovens  and  fireplaces.  One  historiiin  relates,  that  bread 
from  these  baking-places  could  be  seen,  by  persons, 
with  the  epitaphs  of  their  friends  indented  on  the  bot- 
tom crust !  Such  are  the  refinements  of  war  !  Colonel 
Benjamin  Thompson,  of  the  enemy's  forces,  permitted 
these  outrages— a  man,  too,  of  distinguished  science,  and 
afterwards  made  Count  Rumford  by  the  Duke  of  Bava- 
ria !  This  officer  entertained  great  hatred  to  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Prime  and  his  son,  on  account  of  their  ardent  patri- 
otism and  efforts  to  sustain  the  infant  cause  of  freedom. 
The  British  officers  took  possession  of  his  house,  de- 
stroying many  valuable  books  in  his  librar}-,  and  mutila- 
ting others.  An  exile  in  a  retired  neighborhood,  nearly 
fourscore  years  old,  this  venerable  soldier  of  the  cross, 
in  the  midst  of  the  war,  ended  his  useful  life  in  1779. 
In  the  year  1782,  Colonel  Thompson  encamped  in  the 
graveyard  of  Huntington,  pitching  his  tent  behind  this 
old  pastor's  grave,  "that  he  would  have  the  pleasure," 


EARLIEST  CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  301 

he  said,  "  every  time  lie  went  out  and  in,  of  treading  on 
tlie  old  rebel."  Refined  feelings  and  enjoyment  for  a 
Count !     Count  Rumford  ! 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Prime  was  a  divine  of  much  learning, 
ability,  and  usefulness  ;  his  manuscripts  contam  living 
evidence  to  his  devotion,  and  ardent  desires  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Lord's  kingdom. 

When  Long  Island  was  settled  by  the  Dutch  and  Eng- 
lish, Indians  occupied  its  whole  territory,  and  liere  re- 
sided, or  rather  roamed,  thirteen  distinct  tribes  of  the 
Aborigines.  Their  history  would  fill  an  interesting 
chaj^ter,  but  we  are  now  to  notice  them  as  idolaters  and 
pagans,  for  very  early  did  the  attention  of  Christians  in 
New  England  direct  itself  towards  these  poor,  benighted 
people.  As  early  as  1653,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leverich,  one  of 
the  original  purchasers  of  Oyster  Bay,  who  had  studied 
the  Indian  language  in  Massachusetts,  was  employed 
by  the  "Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  New 
England,"  as  a  teacher  of  the  Indians  on  the  island,  and 
he  devoted  five  years  to  this  work.  The  Rev.  Mr.  James 
also,  first  minister  at  East  Hamilton,  studied  the  Indian 
language,  and,  moved  with  compassion,  labored  among 
the  Mohawk  tribe,  about  1660.  For  a  centur}^  the  re- 
ligious efforts  of  these  missionary  men  and  others  seemed 
to  have  been  almost  useless.  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  however,  1741,  the  Rev.  Azariah 
Horton  was  ordained  as  a  missionary  to  these  Indians 
by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  and  he  became,  in 
word  and  deed,  a  true  missionary.  His  important 
charge  extended  along  the  whole  southern  shore  of  the 
island  for  over  one  hundred  miles :    and  four  or  five 


302  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

times  a  j^ear  lie  itinerated,  like  a  more  modern  AVesleyan, 
from  Montauk  to  RockaA^ay.  We  find  liim  subsisting 
on  Indian  fare,  sleeping  in  their  wigwams,  preaching 
the  Gospel  almost  daily,  and  teaching  the  savages  to 
read  God's  Word.  His  journals  have  been  preserv(^d, 
and  prove  his  zeal  and  success  among  them.  For  illus- 
tration, we  make  a  few  extracts : 

"Rockaway,  June  Cth,  1742. — Preached.  My  hearers  attended  with  serious- 
ness, and  appeared  somewhat  thoughtful. 

"Mouches,  June  13th. — Preached.  Two  Indians  awakened,  and  several 
others  under  distressing  concern  of  mind,  &c.  Most  of  these  are  endeavouring 
to  learn  to  read. 

"June  19th. — Spent  most  of  the  day  in  visiting,  from  wigwam  to  wigwam, 
botli  the  sick  and  well.  •    •  • 

"  Islip,  October  24t]i. — Preached.  Some  deeply  concerned,  &c.,  &c.,  among 
the  Indians." 

These  Christian  efforts  continued  eleven  years,  the 
missionary  pursuing  his  solitary  work  uncheered  by  the 
presence  of  a  single  fellow-laborer.  In  February,  how- 
ever, 1742,  he  was  encouraged  by  a  visit  from  the  well- 
known  David  Brainard,  preparing  to  set  out  on  a  similar 
errand  of  mercy  to  the  New  Jersey  Indians.  To  Hor- 
ton's  "poor  dear  people,"  he  preached  a  single  dis- 
course. In  1752,  Mr.  Horton  settled  at  Madison,  New 
Jersey,  where  some  Long  Islanders  had  emigrated,  and 
he  became  the  first  pastor  of  the  place,  and  remained 
for  fifteen  years.  He  here  finished  his  earthly  work  in 
1792,  and  his  tombstone  has  this  simple  inscription  : 

IN   JIEMORY   OF 

THE   REV.   AZARIAII    HORTON, 

FOIl  TWENTY-FIVK   YEARS   PASTOR   OF  THIS   CHURCH. 

Died  March  27th,  1777,  aged  sixty-two  years. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  303 

His  name  should  never  perish  from  the  early  churches, 
and  especially  the  Indian  missions  of  Long  Island. 

The  year  after  Mr.  Horton  left  Long  Island,  Samson 
Occum,  a  Mohegan  Indian,  was  sent  as  a  teacher  to  the 
Indians  there.  He  was  a  most  remarkable  man  ;  born 
1723,  he  embraced  Christianity  in  1741,  then  eighteen 
years  old.  Very  anxious  to  be  useful,  he  obtained  ad- 
mission into  the  school  of  the  Rev.  Eleazer  Wheelock, 
of  Lebanon.  This  seminary  resulted  in  "Moor's 
Charity  School,"  and  that  led  to  the  establishmemt  of 
Dartmouth  College.  In  the  year  1759,  he  received  ordi- 
nation from  the  Presbytery  of  Suffolk,  and  preached  the 
Gospel  with  great  power  among  his  Indian  brethren. 
He  accompanied  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whittaker  to  England  in 
1765,  to  obtain  funds  for  the  "Moor's  Charity  School." 
The  first  Indian  preacher  that  ever  appeared  among  the 
English,  he  attracted  great  attention,  and  crowded 
houses  listened  to  his  discourses.  He  obtained  more 
than  forty  thousand  dollars  in  England  and  Scotland, 
the  King  donating  two  hundred  dollars. 

Occum  removed  from  Long  Island  to  Oneida  County 
in  the  year  1786,  where  he  died,  1792,  aged  sixty-nine. 
More  than  three  hundred  Indians  attended  his  funeral, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  preaching  the  sermon.  This 
native  preacher  addressed,  acceptably,  the  most  intelli- 
gent congregations,  as  well  as  the  ignorant  Indians. 
When  preaching  to  the  latter,  his  manner  was  free, 
clear,  and  eloquent ;  but  more  constrained  to  other 
audiences.  He  was  a  poet,  also,  and  one  of  our  familiar 
hymns  comes  from  this  Mohegan' s  pen  : 


304  ,     EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

"  Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound, 
My  soul  in  bonds  of  guilt  I  found, 

And  knew  not  where  to  go: 
Eternal  truth  did  loud  proclaim 
'The  sinner  must  be  born  again,' 

Or  sink  to  endless  woe. 

"  When  to  the  Law  I  trembling  fled, 
It  poured  its  curses  on  my  head ; 

I  no  relief  could  find  : 
This  fearful  truth  increased  my  pain, — 
The  sinner  must  be  born  again, — 

And  whelmed  my  tortured  mind. 

"Again  did  Sinai's  thunders  roll, 
And  guilt  lay  heavy  on  my  soul, 

A  vast,  oppressive  load; 
Alas !  I  read  and  saw  it  plain, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again,' 

Or  drink  the  wrath  of  God. 

"  The  saints  I  heard  with  rapture  toll 
How  Jesus  conquered  death  and  hell. 

And  broke  the  fowler's  snare : 
Yet  when  I  found  this  truth  rem  in, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again,' 

I  sunk  in  deep  despair. 

"  But  while  I  thus  in  anguish  lay, 
The  gracious  Saviour  passed  this  way, 

And  felt  Ilis  pity  move  : 
The  sinner,  by  His  justice  slain. 
Now  by  His  grace  is  born  again, 

And  sings  redeeming  love." 

Thus  wrote  this  converted  son  of  tlie  forest  these 
pious  lines,  which  cheered  many  a  Cliristian  j)ilgrim's 
heart  on  his  journey  to  the  promised  land.  They  are 
to  be  found  in  many  collections. 

Here  is  a  fair  specimen  of  Occum's  lyric  poetry,  and 
worth}^  to  be  2)res(M'ved  : 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  305 

"  Give  all  your  time  to  God 

In  prayer  and  praise ; 
Your  thoughts  from  vanity 

To  Heaven  raise. 

"Our  work,  so  great,  requires 

Our  few  short  years; 
Neglected — Heaven  is  changed 

To  groans  and  tears. 

"  Except  we  cultivate 

What  God  has  given, 
We  shall  repent  too  late, 

And  miss  of  Heaven." 

The  only  sermon  of  the  Mohegan  preacher  ever  pub- 
lished, was  delivered  at  the  execution  of  an  Indian, 
Moses  Paul,  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  September  2d, 
1772,  for  murder.  He  said  to  the  dying  culprit :  "  This 
is  a  call,  a  gracious  call  to  you,  poor  Moses,  under  your 
present  burdens  and  distresses."  And  setting  before 
him  the  only  way  of  life,  he  added:  ''Thus  you  see, 
poor  Moses,  there  is  none  in  heaven,  or  on  the  earth, 
that  can  help  you  but  Christ." 

The  results  of  his  six  years  mission  among  the  Long 
Island  Indians  are  thus  expressed  in  his  own  language  : 
"Many  of  them  can  read,  write,  ci]Dher,  and  spell,  but 
they  are  not  so  zealous  now  as  they  were  some  years 
ago."  This  earliest  Indian  missionary  on  Long  Island 
lived  and  died  a  good  man. 

When  Occum  left  the  Island,  another  Indian,  Peter 
John,  became  a  faithful  native  preacher  to  his  brethren. 
He  ministered  among  them  until  his  grandson,  the  Rev. 
Paul  Cuffee,  entered  the  sacred  calling.  He  was  the 
second  of  seven  sons  of  Peter  Cuffee,  an  Indian  of  the 
20 


306  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Shinnecock  tribe,  and  born  in  Brooldiaven,  in  1757. 
He  embraced  Christianity  in  1778-9,  and  made  Canoe 
Place  liis  liome  wliile  lie  lived.  His  motlier  was  of 
African  descent,  and  very  pious.  In  1790  lie  was  or- 
dained to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  admitted  a 
member  of  the  "Strict  Congregational  Church  of  Long 
Island."  He  received  a  commission  from  the  "New 
York  Missionary  Society,"  to  labor  among  the  remnants 
of  the  Long  Island  Indians,  in  which  good  work  he  con- 
tinued until  his  death.  Crowds  flocked  to  hear  his  na- 
tive eloquence  ;  his  manner  was  graceful,  imagination 
lively,  voice  most  musical.  Churches  and  ministers  of 
other  denominations  opened  their  pulj)its  to  his  excel- 
lent and  affecting  discourses.  What  Avas  most  impor- 
tant, his  spirit  was  imbued  with  ardent  piety  and  un- 
affected humility.  He  died  as  he  lived,  with  the  smiles 
of  his  Saviour.  Directing  the  manner  and  place  of  his 
interment,  he  also  selected  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8,  for  his 
funeral  sermon,  and  then,  exhorting  his  family  and 
friends  to  make  Christ  their  friend,  he  bid  them  a  fond 
and  final  adieu,  and  calmly  fell  asleep  in  deatli. 

Where  the  Indian  Church  once  stood,  near  Canoe 
Place,  among  the  bushes  and  trees,  his  grave  was  dug. 
It  was  enclosed  alone,  and  here  lie  the  remains  of  the 
last  native  j)reacher  to  the  Long  Island  Indians.  A 
j)lain  headstone  marked  the  spot,  and  thus  read  : 

ERECTED   BY 

TOE   NEW   YORK   MISSIONARY   SOCIETY, 

IN    MEIIORY    OP 

THE   REV.   PAUL   CUFFEE, 

AN   INDIAN   OF   THE   SHINNECOCK   TIUBB, 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  307' 

Who  was  employed  by  that  Society,  for  the  last  thirteen  years  of  his  life, 

on  the  eastern  part  of  Long  Island,  whore  he  labored 

with  fidc'litj'  and  success. 

Humble,  pious,  and  indefatigable  in  testifying  the  Gospel  of  the 

grace  of  God,  he  finished  his  course  with  joy  on  the 

7  th  of  March,  1812, 

Aged  fifty-five  years  and  three  days. 

We  have  thus  particularly  noticed  the  lives  of  these 
native  Christian  Indians,  with  their  labors  among  their 
own  brethren,  because  they  were  the  earliest  efforts 
made  to  gather  these  lost  tribes  into  the  Redeemer's 
fold.  A  very  small  and  poor  remnant  still  lingers  upon 
the  eastern  shores  of  the  Island.  But,  tainted  by  inter- 
marriage with  the  negroes,  they  have  become  more  and 
more  degraded,  and  will  soon  disappear  from  the  earth, 
like  myriads  and  nations  of  the  other  "Red  Men"  of 
our  continent ;  the  two  colors  cannot  live  and  thrive 
together.  This  is  our  sentiment ;  and  we  believe  that 
this  continent  is  destined  for  the  glorious  Anglo-Saxon 
white  race,  now  gradually  extending  itself  over  our 
globe. 


308  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

WHITEFIELd's    visit    to    east     HAMPTON     (l7G4) REVIVAL BAPTIST 

CHURCH     AND      A      NEW      LIGHT PETER      UNDERHILL      AND      SARAH 

TOWNSEND QUAKERS GEORGE     FOX FIRST     MEETING-HOUSE    AT 

OYSTER    BAY ELIAS    HICKS JAMAICA — REV.    JOHN    HUBBARD,  FIRST 

MINISTER HIS    BIBLE — SUCCESSORS REV.   A.   KETTLETA6    PREACHES 

IN    THREE    LANGUAGES PERSECUTED    BY    THE    BRITISH REV.    SAM- 
UEL   SEABURY,    THE     EARLIEST     EPISCOPAL     BISHOP     IN    THE     UNITED 

STATES COLONY    FROM    JAMAICA   TO    ELIZABETHTOWN,   NEW    JERSEY 

REV.    MR.    POLHEMUS     FIRST     DOMINIE     AT      FLATBUSH     (1655) 

CHURCHES      BUILT GRAVESEND     "fORESIXGEr'' ERASMUS     HALL 

REV.    MR.    SOLIMUS    AND    VAN    ZUREN,   1677,  AND    SUCCESSORS — NEW 

UTRECHT WHIGS      AND       ROYALISTS COLLEGIATE       CHURCHES 

GRAVESEND     QUAKERS    (1657) FOx's    VISIT MAGISTRATES REV. 

MR.    SCHOONMAKER NEW    UTRECHT     (1654)     CHURCH     BUILT DOMI- 
NIES  GENERAL    HOWe's    LANDING    ('66)  —  BUSHWICK FIRST    HOUSE 

FRENCH  SETTLERS ODIOUS  TAXES  BY  GOVERNOR  NICOLS CHURCH 

ERECTED ITS    MINISTERS — BROOKLYN FIRST  CHURCHES  AND    DOMI- 
NIES  EPISCOPALIANS. 

WHITEFIELD'S  VISIT. 

It  is  seldom  mentioned  that  tlie  eloquent  Whitelield 
preached  in  most  of  the  towns  on  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island.  He  was  in  East  Hampton  at  the  beginning  of  the 
great  revival  of  1764,  of  which  Dr.  Buel  published  a 
detailed  narrative  without  naming  Whitefield.  But  this 
illustrious  man  of  God  came  as  an  angel  to  tlie  churches 
in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1764.  His  head-quarters  were 
at  the  liospitable  mansion  of  Thomas  Bering.  Samuel 
L'Hommedieu,  Esq.,  wlio  died  at  Sag  Harbor  in  1834,  was 


EARLIEST   CIIUKCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  309 

converted  under  Whiteiield'  s  preaching,  and  often  sjjoke 
of  assisting  to  make  a  raft  to  convey  Wliitefield,  with  liis 
horse  and  carriage,  from  Soiitliold  to  Shelter  Island.  In 
letters  which  Wliitefield  wrote  to  Mr.  Dering,  and  which 
are  still  preserved  in  the  family,  he  speaks  of  his  visit 
to  the  island.  Writing  from  Boston,  May  2d,  1764,  he 
says:  "And  is  Shelter  Island  become  a  Patmos?  It 
seems  so  by  my  friend' s  letter.  Blessed  be  God  !  Bles- 
sed be  God  !  What  cannot  a  God  in  Christ  do  for  His 
people,"  &c. 

The  visit  of  Wliitefield  was  succeeded  by  great  revi- 
vals of  religion,  which  extended  over  many  of  the  towns 
on  the  east  end  of  the  island ;  and,  although  they  were 
marked  by  many  irregularities,  their  usefulness  was  felt 
in  all  time  to  come. 

A  BAPTIST  CHURCH  AND  A  NEW  LIGHT. 

About  the  year  1700,  Mr.  William  Rhodes,  a  Baptist 
preacher  from  England,  came  here  and  gathered  a  little 
church.  He  died  in  1724,  about  which  time  the  first 
house  of  worship  was  put  up.  It  is  still  standing,  a 
great  curiosity  in  its  way  ;  some  twenty  feet  square,  with 
twelve-feet  posts,  and  a  pyramidal  roof  running  up  to  a 
sharp  point.  It  is  now  a  barn.  One  of  Mr.  Rhodes' s 
converts,  Robert  Feeks,  the  son  of  a  Quaker  preacher, 
and  a  Free-will  Baptist,  labored  here  many  years,  and 
died  nearly  ninety  years  old.  Rev.  Thomas  Davis  came 
from  Pennsylvania,  and  was  employed  as  a  colleague  of 
Mr.  Feeks,  but  his  health  failing  him,  he  went  back  to 
his  native  State,  and  Caleb  Wright,  grandson  of  Elder 
Rhodes,  began  to  preach,  but  died  and  was  buried  on 


310  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

the  day  he  was  to  be  ordained.  The  church  became 
sadly  distracted.  Elder  Davis  returned  here  and  sought 
to  make  peace.  But  party  spirit  rose  so  high,  that  each 
party  attempted  to  hold  possession  of  the  meeting-house. 
On  one  occasion,  old  Elder  Feeks,  with  a  number  of 
others,  entered  the  house,  fastened  the  doors,  and  he 
ascended  the  pulj^it.  Soon  after.  Elder  Davis  came  with 
his  party,  and  burst  open  the  door.  Davis  went  u]3  into 
the  pulpit,  and,  after  some  contention,  got  the  mastery 
and  preached.  Out  of  these  troubles  grew  a  new  society 
called  the  New  Light  Church.  The  leaders  were  Peter 
Underhill  and  Sarah  Townsend.  She  Av^as  the  ruling 
spirit ;  and  with  much  ability  defended  their  peculiar 
doctrine,  which  was  very  much  the  same  as  all  religious 
fanatics  profess  to  believe— the  right  to  do  as  they 
please  in  religious  matters,  especially  to  the  annoyance 
of  others.  This  unrestrained  liberty  Avas  to  be  used  by 
every  member  when  he  felt  called. to  speak;  and  the 
preacher  must  stop  in  his  discourse  Avlien  a  man  or 
woman  Avas  moved  to  hold  forth.  The  Avildest  disorders 
folloAved.  Some  tAventy  persons  drcAV  up  a  number  of 
articles  to  preserve  decency  in  their  meetings,  and  pre- 
sented them  to  the  church.  As  soon  as  they  Avere  read, 
Madame  ToAvnsend  arose,  and  cried  out  at  the  top  of  her 
voice,  "Babylon!  Babylon!  Babylon!''  and  ran  out 
of  the  house,  followed  by  her  adherents,  all  shouting 
Babylon  so  loudly  they  Avere  heard  two  miles. 

THE  QUAKERS.— GEORGE  FOX. 

Probably  the  first  Quaker  meeting-house   on   Long 
Island  was  erected  at  Oyster  Bay,  but  tlie  date  of  its 


EAKLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOrwK.  311 

building  cannot  now  be  found.  One  was  built  at  Jeri- 
cho in  16G8,  and  in  Flushing  in  1689.  In  1672,  George 
Fox,  the  founder  of  the  Quaker  sect,  visited  America. 
Landing  in  Maryland,  he  travelled  north,  making,  he 
says,  "a  tedious  journey  through  woods  and  wilderness, 
oVer  bogs  and  great  rivers."  Coming  to  Middletown,  in 
New  Jersey,  he  writes:  "We  could  not  stay  to  hold  a 
meeting  there,  being  anxious  to  reach  Oyster  Bay  at  the 
half-yearly  meeting.  Crossing  the  bay  to  Gravesend, 
they  went  to  Flushing,  and  on  the  day  following  to 
Oyster  Bay."  Here  he  attended  the  meeting,  which 
lasted  four  days.  After  spending  several  days  more  in 
this  vicinity,  he  went  to  Rhode  Island,  and  then  returned 
to  Fisher's  Island,  where,  he  says,  "we  went  on  shore 
at  night,"  but  "were  not  able  to  stay  for  the  mosche- 
toes,  a  sort  of  gnats  or  little  Hies  which  abound  there, 
and  are  very  troublesome."  Then  he  went  to  Shelter 
Island  and  sj^ent  more  than  a  week,  preaching  to  the 
whites  and  also  to  the  Indians,  and  then  returned  to 
Oyster  Bay,  Flushing,  and  Gravesend,  and  so  to  New 
Jersey.  At  Shrewsbury,  New  Jersey,  one  of  his  party, 
named  John  Jay,  was  thrown  from  his  horse  and  broke 
his  neck.  Fox  took  his  head  in  his  hands,  and  it  rolled 
any  way.  He  then  put  one  hand  under  liis  chin  and  the 
other  behind  his  head,  and,  pulling  with  all  his  strength, 
set  his  neck.  The  man  was  soon  all  right,  and  followed 
his  leader,  it  is  said.  This  is  the  only  case  of  setting  a 
broken  neck  in  the  records  of  natural  or  miraculous 
surgery  we  have  met  with. 

Jericho,  six  miles  east  of  Oyster  Bay,  is  celebrated  as 
the  residence  of  Elias  Hicks,  who  is  as  well  known,  for 


312  EARLIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

his  connection  Avitli  one  great  division  of  the  sect,  as 
George  Fox  himself.  He  was  born  in  North  Hemp- 
stead, in  1748 ;  was  brought  up  a  carpenter ;  became 
a  Quaker  preacher  ;  travelled  extensively ;  inculcated 
doctrines  inconsistent  Avith  the  opinions  of  the  founders 
of  the  sect ;  divided  the  body  ;  litigation  followed  ;  and 
two  distinct  societies  were  the  result— the  Ortliodox,  or 
the  original  Friends,  and  the  Hicksites,  named  from  Elias 
Hicks. 

The  opinions  of  Elias  Hicks  differed  from  his  breth- 
ren in  his  denial  of  the  miraculous  conception  of  Jesus 
Christ,  his  divinity  and  atonement,  and  the  authenticity 
and  divine  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  But  it  is 
said  that  towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  gave  his  writ- 
ten assent  to  all  these  doctrines. 

JAMAICA. 

The  Rev.  John  Hubbard  was  the  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1695,  and 
settled  here  in  '98  ;  a  man  of  distinguished  piety.  Cot- 
ton Mather,  in  his  Magnolia,  states,  that  "he  read  over 
the  whole  Bible  six  times  every  year."  Nevertheless, 
he  used  to  say  that  "every  time  he  read  it  he  observed 
or  collected  something  which  he  never  did  before. ' '  This 
was  the  incumbent  of  the  parish,  whose  generosity  was 
basely  requited  by  Lord  Cornbury. 

During  the  year  1712,  the  Rev.  George  McNish  was 
called  to  Jamaica.  He  was  a  native  of  Scotland  or  Ire- 
land, had  been  settled  in  Maryland,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  organization  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church.    With  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pomeroy,  of  Newtown,  they 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  313 

foiTucd  tlie  jirst  presbytery  on  Long  Island,  and  it  was 
held  at  Southampton,  April,  1717.  It  was  the  earliest 
association  of  the  kind  in  the  province  of  N'ew  York, 
and  for  many  years  all  the  Preslbyterian  churches  of 
Westchester  County  and  our  city  became  subject  to  its 
jurisdiction.  Mr.  McNish  must  have  been  a  remarkably 
punctual  member  of  that  body,  having  been  absent  but 
once  from  its  sessions  during  his  whole  life.  Robert 
Cross  followed  him  in  1723,  and  Walter  Wilmot  during 
1738.  He  died  greatly  lamented,  and  his  tombstone 
bears  this  inscription : 

HERE   LYES 

THE  REV.  WALTER  WILMOT, 

Dec'd  Aug.  Gth,  1744. 

-(Etatis  .')5. 

No  more  from  sacred  desk  I  preach, 

You  hear  my  voice  no  more ; 
Yet  from  the  dead  my  dust  shall  teach, 

The  same  I  taught  before. 

Be  ready  for  this  darlt  abode, 

That  when  our  bodies  rise, 
We  meet  with  joy  the  Son  of  God, 

Descending  from  the  slvies. 

This  family,  it  is  said,  has  become  extinct,  but  the 
church  has  long  continued  to  enjoy  the  smiles  of  Heaven, 
and  remains  one  of  the  most  prosperous  on  Long  Island. 

The  name  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Kettletas  appears 
prominently  among  the  old  church  records  of  Jamaica. 
He  Avas  born  in  New  York,  1732,  and  graduated  at  Yale, 
1752.  At  first,  he  settled  at  Elizabethtown,  and  then 
removed  to  a  farm  near  Jamaica,  spending  much  of  his 


314  EARLIEST   CIIIJRCIIES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

time  ill  preaching  to  the  vacant  churches  here  and  else- 
where. He  frequently  discoursed  in  tliree  different  lan- 
guages— the  Dutch,  Frcuich,  and  English.  A  devoted  pa- 
triot, he  became  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  British, 
and  was  obliged  to  leave  Long  Island  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  They  took  his  property,  defaced  his  man- 
sion, and  enlisted  his  negro  slaves  as  soldiers  of  their 
king.  He  was  a  man  of  very  indej)endent  spirit,  and, 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Convention  (1777),  assisted  in 
forming  the  first  constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

In  1750,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury  was  the  rector  of 
the  Episcopal  Churcli  at  Jamaica,  and  the  first  of  Amer- 
ican parentage,  a  native  of  New  London.  He  removed 
to  Westchester  1766,  and,  a  royalist,  Avent  to  New  York 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  residing  there  until  its 
close.  During  1784,  he  sought  ordination  to  the  Episco- 
pacy in  England ;  but,  refused  by  tlie  British  bishops, 
from  political  reasons,  he  obtained  this  sacred  office  from 
tlie  nonjuring  prelates  of  the  Scottish  Episco2)al  Church. 
Thus  he  became  the  earliest  Episcopal  Bishop  in  the 
United  States.     Mr.  Seabury  died  February  25,  1796. 

The  records  of  Jamaica  have  been  carefully  preserved, 
and  its  first  settlement  was  made  by  a  company  from  the 
neighboring  town  of  Hempstead,  in  1656,  more  than  two 
centuries  back.  Tliey  purchased  lands  of  the  Indians, 
obtaining  a  grant  that  year  on  "free  leave  to  erector 
build  a  town,  with  the  choice  of  their  own  magistrates." 

In  the  year  1664,  a  small  colony  emigrated  from  this 
place,  and  commenced  the  settlement  of  Elizabethtown, 
New  Jersey.  John  Bail}-,  Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke 
Watson  there  purchased  the  lands  of  the  Indians,  and 


ILVRLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  315 

received  their  j)atent  from  Governor  NicoUs.  We 
may  speak  more  of  this  settlement  in  its  appropriate 
place. 

The  earliest  attempt  to'  introduce  religion  on  this  sec- 
tion of  Long  Island  was  an  order  from  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant,  October  13,  1654,  "permitting  the  Rev.  Johan- 
nes Theodosius  Polhemus  to  preach  alternately  at  Mid- 
wout  and  Amersfort"  (Flatbush  and  Flatlands).  To 
this  period  no  house  of  worship  had  been  built  or  eccle- 
siastical organization  formed  in  any  of  the  Long  Island 
settlements.  In  1655,  the  Governor  ordered  the  people 
of  Breuclden  and  Amersfort  to  assist  in  erecting  a 
church.  It  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  twenty- 
eight  by  sixty  feet,  the  rear  to  be  occupied  by  the  domi- 
nie, and  its  whole  cost,  when  finished,  amounted  to  four 
thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  guilders  (one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  and  eighty 
cents). 

This  edifice  remained  until  the  close  of  that  century, 
when,  in  1698,  over  six  thousand  dollars  were  sub- 
scribed to  finish  a  new  church.  It  was  placed  on  the 
former  site ;  its  walls  stone,  sixty -five  by  fifty,  with 
square  roof.  No  j)ews,  but  the  congregation  used  chairs 
and  benches.  In  1775,  its  interior  remodelled,  the  pews 
were  erected  and  distributed  by  lot.  In  1796,  the  third 
new  church  was  built  on  the  spot,  at  a  cost  of  twelve 
thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty -three  dollars.  A  fine- 
toned  bell,  from  Holland,  was  i^resented  to  this  church 
by  the  Hon.  John  Vanderbilt,  and  among  its  first  toU- 
ings  over  these  beautiful  hills  and  vales  were  those  for 
the  burial  of  its  liberal  giver.     In  1836-7,  the  interior 


316  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

was  again  improved,  making  the  sacred  edifice  one  of 
the  largest  on  the  island. 

Under  the  English  Government,  Gravesend  had  been 
the  seat  of  justice  for  this  part  of  the  island,  but,  in 
1685,  the  courts  were  transferred  to  Flatbush.  In  '86, 
the  court-house  was  erected  here,  when  this  town  became 
the  county  seat,  and  continued  so  until  1832,  when  Flat- 
bush  ceased  to  be  used  for  the  purpose,  and  Brooklyn 
took  its  place. 

From  the  earliest  period,  Flatbush  attended  to  the  in- 
struction of  the  children,  and  we  find  records  of  a 
teacher  as  early  as  1659.  He  was  aii  important  person- 
age— town-clerk,  sexton,  foresinger,  or  chorister,  all  at 
the  same  time,  and  yielding  a  good  support.  Instruc- 
tion was  confined  to  the  Dutch  language  until  1762-73 — 
then  came  the  English  pedagogue.  In  1786  the  well- 
known  Erasmus  Hall  was  founded,  and  the  second  in- 
corporated in  the  State,  but  for  a  long  while  ranked  first 
in  public  favor  and  success.  Many  distinguished  citi- 
zens in  Church  and  State  here  obtained  the  elements  of 
education  and  character. 

For  many  yetiYS  all  the  Dutch  ministers  in  this  region 
came  from  Holland.  We  have  named  Dominie  Polhe- 
mus,  who  continued  to  preach  until  his  death,  in  the 
year  1676.  The  church  at  Brooklyn  sent  to  "the  father- 
land" for  another  minister,  Avhen  the  Eev.  Henricus 
Solimus  (Henry  Selwyn)  arrived  in  1660.  He  did  not 
remain  long,  returning  to  Holland  1664.  After  some 
years,  we  meet  him  again  at  ISTew  Amsterdam,  from 
1682  to  1700.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  learned 
and  popular  minister,  and,  whilst  at  Brooklyn,  preach- 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  317 

ed  every  Sabbath  afternoon  at  the  Governor's  man- 
sion. 

In  1677,  the  Kev.  Casparus  Van  Zuren  officiated  here, 
and  was  called  "an  industrious  and  systematic  man." 
He  returned  to  Holland,  1685,  for  the  duties  of  his  for- 
mer charge. 

Then  succeeded  the  Rev.  Rudolphus  Yarick,  Wilhel- 
mus  Lupardus,  and  Rev.  Bei-nardus  Freeman,  installed 
at  New  Utrecht,  November,  1705.  The  Rev.  Yincentius 
Antonides  was  sent  over  by  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam, 
in  1704.  An  unhappy  difference,  concerning  the  settle- 
ment of  these  two  last  gentlemen,  greatly  agitated  the 
churches,  but  was  happily  terminated  by  laying  aside 
their  differences,  and  acknowledging  Dominies  Freeman 
and  Antonides  as  their  pastors.  At  this  period  the  Col- 
legiate churches  had  greatly  increased,— Bushwick, 
Flatbush,  Flatlands,  Brooklyn,  New  Utrecht,  and  Ja- 
maica, all  embraced  in  the  charge,  and  both  ministers 
resided  at  Flatbush.  Mr.  Freeman  left  several  pub- 
lished productions.  He  died  1741,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Johannes  Avondeus  the  next  year,  who  de- 
parted in  1744,  when  the  Rev.  Ulpianus  Yan  Sinderin 
took  his  place,  1746.  Avondeus  finished  his  earthly  mis- 
sion in  1754,  when  the  Rev.  Anthony  Curtenius  came  to 
the  church,  1755,  and  died  the  following  autumn. 

Johannes  Casparus  Rubel  was  called  in  the  year  1759, 
continuing  Mr.  Yan  Sinderin  until  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  These  dominies  greatly  differed  in  their 
political  opinions— Yan  Sinderin  a  firm  Whig  and  Mr. 
Rubel  a  decided  Loyalist.  Like  differences,  to  som(> 
extent,  extended  to  several  congregations,  producing  an 


3]  8  EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   I]Sr   NEW   YORK. 

unpleasant  state  of  society,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Van 
Sinderin  resigned  his  pastoral  relation,  in  1796.  He  was 
a  learned,  but  eccentric  man,  and  "deficient  in  sound 
judgment."  How  hard  it  is  for  eccentricity  of  character 
to  unite  with  a  sound  judgment.     Mr.  Rubel  died  1799. 

The  Rev.  Martinus  Schoonmaker,  in  1785,  took  charge 
of  the  Collegiate,  churches  in  this  county,  to  which 
Gravesend  was  added.  He  died  in  1824,  aged  eighty- 
seven.  The  Rev.  Peter  Lowe  became  his  colleague  in 
1787.  Heretofore  divine  service  had  been  maintained 
in  Dutcli  ;  now  it  was  performed  in  English,  during  tfie 
afternoon.  Mr.  Schoonmaker,  however,  never  attempted 
to  preacli  in  English,  except  once,  in  the  year  1788, 
on  Long  Island.  These  Collegiate  churches  having 
continued  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  their  .union  dis- 
continued about  the  commencement  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. In  1805,  the  Brooklyn  congregation  called  a  pas- 
tor of  its  own,  and  Mr.  Lowe  took  sole  charge  of  Flat- 
bush  and  Flatlands.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Schoon- 
maker, the  other  churches  also  had  separate  pastors. 

In  the  year  1819,  the  Rev.  Walter  Monteith  was  in- 
stalled pastor  of  Flatbush  and  Flatlands. 

GRAVESEND. 

Very  little  is  known  concerning  the  earliest  history  of 
Gravesend.  The  Quakers  reached  here  about  1G57,  and 
the  inhabitants  readily  embraced  their  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline, organizing  one  of  the  earliest  meetings  on  Long 
Island.  George  Fox,  the  celebrated  Quaker,  visited  this 
place  during  his  trip  to  America,  and  held  large  nieet- 
in";s.     It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  the  Re- 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK,  319 

formed  Dutcli  Clmrcli  in  this  town.  Its  first  settlers 
were  English,  and  the  toAvn  records,  for  two  hundred 
years,  are  nearly  entire.  For  three-quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury, marriages  were  usually  performed  by  the  civil 
magistrates,  and  occasionally  the  ministers  officiated  on 
the  important  occasion,  as — 

"Nov.,  4th  day,  1G93. — Andrew  Emans  and  Rebecca  Van  Cleefe  pronounced 
man  and  wife,  by  y"  Dominie  Rudolphus  Veuyck,  Flattbusch." 

In  1785,  the  Rev.  Martinus  Schoonmaker  ministered 
to  the  church  of  Gravesend,  and  died  in  1824.  The 
Rev.  Isaac  P.  Labagh  succeeded  him,  after  several  years 
interval,  but  was  dismissed  (1842),  for  peculiar  senti- 
ments about  the  Sabbath,  and  suspended  from  the  min- 
istry, on  account  of  resistance  to  ecclesiastical  authority. 
Then  came  to  this  church  the  Rev.  Abm.  J.  Labagh. 

New  Utrecht  was  settled  in  1654,  by  twenty  Dutch 
families,  the  Dutch  Church  organized  here  about  1677, 
and  a  house  of  worship  erected  in  1700.  It  was  built  in 
the  usual  octagonal  form  of  that  day,  and,  during  the 
war,  the  British  occupied  it  for  a  prison  and  hospital. 
In  1828  it  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  edifice  occupied 
its  place.  The  earliest  ministers  were  the  pastors  of  the 
Collegiate  churches  in  the  county,  and  the  Governor 
ordered  Mr.  Freeman  to  be  installed,  1705.  In  follow- 
ing years,  the  Rev.  John  Beatie  and  the  Rev.  Robert 
C.  Currie  labored  here,  and  the  Rev.  James  D.  Carder, 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  became  chaplain  at  Fort  Ham- 
ilton, near  by. 

During  the  year  1662,  the  Governor  authorized  the 
inhabitants  of  New  Utrecht  to  elect  their  own  magis- 


320  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK 

trates,  and  hold  civil  courts,  for  all  causes  not  exceeding 
five  pounds  in  amount,  with  jurisdiction  over  criminal 
cases  of  j)etit  larceny.  This  town  becomes  memorable 
from  its  connection  with  the  American  Revolution. 
Here  General  Howe  landed,  August  22,  1766,  with  the 
British  forces,  the  week  before  the  unfortunate  battle  on 
Long  Island.  In  this  village  also  stood,  a  few  years 
ago,  the  old  stone  house  where  General  Nathaniel 
Woodhull  died  from  his  wounds,  September  20,  1776. 
It  was  a  remarkable  old  mansion,  with  tiles  imported 
from  Holland,  having  lasted  a  century  and  a  half. 

From  some  translations  of  the  town  records,  by  Gen- 
eral Jeremiah  Johnson,  we  learn  something  about  the 
earliest  settlement  of  Bush  wick.  In  February,  1660, 
Director  Stuy vesant  ordered  the  ' '  outside  residents' '  to 
concentrate  themselves  within  the  neighboring  towns, 
because  we  have  war  with  the  Indians,  who  have  slain 
several  of  our  Netherland  people.  Fourteen  French- 
men, with  "a  Dutchman,"  named  Peter  John  Dewit, 
their  interpreter,  arrived,  with  other  settlers,  and  not 
understanding  the  Dutch,  a  village  with  "twenty-two 
house-lots"  was  laid  out  for  their  use.  This  place  was 
called  Mispot  (now  Maspeth),  and  its  first  house  occu- 
pied by  William  Traphagen  and  Kaart  Mourison.  In  1661, 
the  new  village  took  the  name  of  Boswijck  (Boswyck). 

On  the  muster-roll  of  1663,  we  find  forty  names,  of 
which  fourteen  are  French— doubtless  Huguenots  or 
their  immediate  descendants,  who  liad  fled  to  America 
from  the  wicked  and  bloody  persecutions  of  their  own 
native  lands.  This  is  an  important  historical  fact,  cor- 
recting: the  notion  that  the  west  end  of  Long  Island  was 


EAELTEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  321 

* 

exclusively  settled  by  Dutcli  emigrants.  They  became 
the  most  numerous,  and,  in  process  of  time,  here  as  else- 
where, by  intermarriage,  the  French  Protestants  entirely 
amalgamated,  as  one  people,  with  the  Hollanders.  From 
this  capital  religious  stock  came  some  of  the  most  ex- 
cellent families  of  the  island. 

When  New  Amsterdam  passed  over  to  the  British 
rule.  Governor  Nicoll,  in  1665,  taxed  the  town  of  Bush- 
wick  one  hundred  guilders  for  the  support  of  the  Ei)is- 
copal  rector.  He  delivered  his  first  sermon  at  the  house 
of  Giesbert  Tonissen,  "Anno  1665,  the  27tli  of  Decem- 
ber," now  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  years  ago! 
The  names  remain  of  the  twenty-six  persons  who  paid 
the  one  hundred  guilders  for  the  minister' s  salary,  and 
the  odious  tax  continued  until  the  colony  returned  to  the 
Dutch,  in  1673.  The  name  of  the  minister  does  not 
appear. 

About  the  commencement  of  last  century,  a  church 
was  erected  at  Bushwick — of  the  usual  form,  an  octa- 
gon, with  a  cupola.  It  had  no  pews  or  gallery,  the 
people  furnishing  their  own  benches  or  chairs.  In  1790, 
however,  the  edifice  received  a  new  roof;  and  in  '95,  a 
front  gallery,  with  pews  on  the  loAver  floor.  In  1829,  a 
new  church  occupied  the  venerable  s^Dot. 

From  its  first  organization,  the  church  at  Bushwick 
belonged  to  the  Collegiate  charge  of  the  county,  Messrs. 
Freeman  and  Autonides  being  its  first  pastors,  who  were 
followed,  in  after  times,  successively  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
Low,  Schoonmaker,  1808  ;  Basset,  D.  D.,  1824 ;  Meeker, 
1826.  This  congregation  held  its  connection  with  one 
of  the  New  York  Classis. 
21 


322  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

BROOKLYN. 

Brooldyn  has  an  ancient  chronology.  As  early  as 
1646  the  governor  axipointed  a  "superintendent"  of  the 
town,  to  preserve  the  peace,  with  a  "sellout,  a  secretary, 
and  assessor;"  and  the  people  soon  elected  their  own 
magistrates.  To  this  period,  and  for  several  years  after- 
wards, the  inhabitants  had  to  cross  the  river  or  travel 
to  neighboring  settlements  to  enjoy  public  worship. 

Some  of  the  old  Dutch  houses  and  barns  remain  about 
Brooklyn,  reminding  the  passer-by  strongly  of  a  former 
generation  and  days  of  yore.  The  Cortelyou  house, 
near  Gowanus  Bay,  was  one  of  these,  erected  1699,  by 
Nicholas  Vechte,  and,  some  say,  the  oldest  edifice  on 
Long  Island.  It  was  built  of  stone,  with  the  gable  ends 
of  brick  from  Holland. 

Tlie  beautiful  city  of  Brooklyn  has  been  properly 
called  a  city  of  churches,  but  for  almost  two  entire  cen- 
turies it  could  claim  no  such  fame.  During  forty  years 
after  its  earliest  settlers  pitched  their  tents  on  this  spot, 
no  house  of  the  Lord  erected  its  sacred  altars,  and  all 
who  loved  Zion's  gates  journeyed  to  New  Amsterdam 
or  Flatbush  for  public  worship.  Its  first  church,  a 
Reformed  Dutch,  stood  alone  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  years.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  another 
small  one,  of  a  different  sect,  ap]3eared ;  and  after  ten 
years  a  third.  Since  the  year  1820,  a  wonderful  increase 
has  been  made. 

In  1659,  from  tlie  badness  of  the  roads  to  Flatbush, 
the  people  of  Brooklyn  petitioned  the  governor  to  call 
a  dominie  of  their  own.     This  was  granted ;  when  the 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  323 

Rev.  Henricus  Solinus  (Henry  Selwyn)  came  from  Hol- 
land and  was  installed  September  3,  1660.  He  went 
back,  1664,  and  afterwards  returned,  but  did  not  resume 
this  charge.  During  1664,  the  first  house  of  worship 
was  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  main  road,  or  highway, 
according  to  the  Dutch  notion  and  architecture  of  that 
day.  It  must  have  stood  near  by  the  new  Court-house 
now  erecting,  and  remained  one  hundred  years.  This 
gave  place,  in  1766,  to  an  old  church  on  the  same  site, 
and  during  the  year  1807  another  beautiful  stone  edifice 
followed  the  former  near  by.  It  cost  thirteen  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  forty-five  dollars,  and  was  dedicated 
December  23d,  1807,  by  the  venerable  Dr.  Livingston, 
the  sermon  from  Hebrews  iv.  12.  The  congregation  in- 
creasing, in  1834  another  spacious  brick  church  was 
erected,  and  dedicated  May  7tli,  1835.  The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Woodhull,  D.  D.,  Ebenezer  Mason,  Rouse,  and  Maurice 
W.  Dwight,  here  faithfully  preached  Christ  in  their  day. 
It  is  not  embraced  in  our  plan  to  notice  the  other 
modern  Reformed  Dutch  churches  of  Brooklyn. 

During  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  British  officers 
held  diviue  service,  according  to  their  own  forms,  in  the 
Dutch  churches,  the  Rev.  James  Sayre  officiating  from 
1778  to  '83,  then  removing  to  Connecticut,  where  he 
died,  1798.  The  Rev.  George  Wright  followed  him  the 
next  year,  his  congregation  first  occupying  a  barn ;  and 
in  '87  Bishoj)  Provost  consecrated  a  small  frame  house 
on  the  burying-ground,  Fulton  street.  Then  followed 
the  Rev.  Elijah  D.  Rattoon,  1789,  Samuel  Nesbitt,  1795 
("St.  Ann's"),  John  Ireland,  1807,  when  the  stone 
church  was  founded,  on  Sands  and  Washington  streets. 


324  EAELIEST   CIIUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YOKK. 

Here  very  able  and  faithful  ministers  labored :  the  Rev. 
N.  Feltiis,  1814;  Dr.  Henshaw,  1814  to  '17,  and  made 
Bishop  of  Rhode  Island,  1843  ;  Hugh  Smith,  1819  ;  H. 
U.  Onderdonk,  ~D.  D.,  1827  (Bishop  of  Pennsylvania); 
C.  P.  Mcllvaine,  D.  D.,  1827  to  '33  (Bishop  of  Ohio); 
Benjamin  C.  Cutler,  D.  D.,  1833.  Our  object  does  not 
include  the  other  Episcopal  churches,  nor  any  others, 
except  the  Sands  Street  Methodist  Episcopal ;  this 
church  was  the  first  in  Brooklyn  of  Wesley' s  followers, 
and  incorporated  May  19,  1794.  It  was  enlarged,  1810, 
and  rebuilt,  1844,  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  This 
is  the  favored  mother  of  many  other  Methodist  churches 
in  Brooklyn. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  325 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

NEW    NETHERLAND  EMBRACED  A  PART    OF    NEW  JERSEY DUTCH    PLAN- 
TATIONS   AT    BERGEN "pAVONIA" FIRST    SETTLERS TAX    FOR    A 

CHURCH FIRST    MEMBERS OLD   GRAVEYARD DOMINIE's  "  VOOR- 

LESEr" OCTAGONAL  CHURCH  ERECTED   (1680) SELYN3  PREACHES 

HERE    THREE    TIMES    A    YEAR OTHER    PASTORS REV.  MR.    DUBOIs's 

DEATH WAMPUM,  THE  CHURCH  MONEY HOW  COLLECTED REGULAR 

PASTOR    CALLED    (l750) REV.    P.    DE    WINT HIS    SALARY STATEN 

ISLAND ORIGIN    OF    DUTCH    CHURCH    THERE UNITES  WITH  BERGEN 

(1752) REV.    MR.  JACKSON GOVERNOR    FRANKLIN    CHARTERS    THE 

CHURCH ITS    ELDERS     AND     DEACONS UNITES    WITH    THE    HACKEN- 

SACK    CLASSIS  (1771) NEW    CHURCH    "  SITTINGS  " DOMINIE    JACK- 
SON SECOND  TO  WHITEFIELD LONG  SERMON,  AND  MR.  SCIIUREMAN 

OLD  BAPTISMAL  RECORD. 

PAVONIA,  BERGEN,  &c. 

In  pursuing  the  liistory  of  the  earliest  churches  in 
New  York,  it  must  be  remembered  that  New  Nether- 
land  once  embraced  a  part  of  New  Jersey.  Breukelen, 
Amersfoort  (Flatlands),  Gravenzande,  Vlissingen  (Flush- 
ing), Heemstede,  Mespath  (Newtown),  and  Gowanus 
were  plantations  of  the  Dutch  Company,  under  the  same 
authority.  There  was  also  the  small  hamlet  of  Bergen, 
with  a  number  of  valuable  "boweries,"  or  farms,  on 
the  present  Jersey  side  of  the  Hudson  River  (1646). 
This  region  was  called  "Pavonia,"  and  its  settlers  had 
often  been  driven  away  by  the  savages  ;  but,  returning 
to  their  lands  in  the  spring  of  1658,  tliey  concentrated 


326  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

their  dwellings  for  common  safety.  In  1660  they  formed 
a  village,  Avhicli  obtained,  in  the  course  of  the  next  year, 
a  j)atent  of  incorporation,  under  the  name  of  "Bergen," 
after  a  town  in  North  Holland.  Michael  Jansen,  Herman 
Smeeman,  with  Caspar  Steynmets,  were  the  first  magis- 
trates of  its  court,  the  earliest  ever  erected  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  State  of  New  Jersey. 

The  Holland  settlers  on  Bergen  Neck,  greatly  to  their 
credit,  very  early  also  obtained  an  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation from  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam ;  but  its  first 
minute-book  has  been  lost.  Its  official  registers,  however, 
commence  as  far  back  as  the  year  1664,  and  have  con- 
tinued ever  since,  with  great  regularity.  From  tlie  Albany 
Rt-cords,  we  learn  that  four  hundred  and  seventeen  guild- 
ers (one  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  and  eighty  cents) 
were  raised  by  tax,  in  the  township  of  Bergen,  towards 
the  erection  of  a  church;  and  here  are  recorded  the 
names  of  nine  male  and  eighteen  female  members — 
twenty-seven  then  constituting  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church.  This,  doubtless,  was  the  first  regularly  organ- 
ized in  that  region  of  country,  and  probably  the  sixth 
of  North  America.  Tradition  places  the  earliest  house 
of  worshij)  at  Bergen,  where  now  stands  the  family 
vault  of  the  former  Rev.  J.  Cornelison,  and  called  ' '  The 
Old  Graveyard  on  the  Hill."  It  is  said  to  have  been  an 
humble  log  structure,  and  during  eighteen  years  was 
used  by  these  early  Dutch  colonists  for  the  worsliip  of 
the  Almighty.  In  this  little  sacred  spot,  those  venerable 
and  pious  men,  the  Megapolenses  and  Van  Niewhusen, 
of  New  York,  Polhemus,  from  Flatbush,  Schoats,  t)f 
Albany,  and  Van  Zun(Mi,  of  Long  Island,  preached  the 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  327 

Gospel,  and  administered  its  lioly  ordinances  to  the 
Jersey  colonists ;  but  tlieir  welcome  visitations  were 
seldom  more  than  five  in  a  year,  and  when  the  Dominie 
could  not  be  present,  according  to  Holland  custom,  the 
ever-punctual  "  Yoorleser,"  clerk,  or  chorister  conducted 
the  public  exercises,  using  the  Church  Liturgy,  and 
reading  a  good  Calvinistic  sermon,  selected  by  the  Elders 
from  the  best  Dutch  theologians. 

Sixteen  years  having  now  elapsed,  in  1680,  an  octag- 
onal stone  church  succeeded  the  log  tabernacle.  Its 
membership  now  reached  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
persons,  and  the  initials  of  some  of  their  names  were 
cut  on  its  stone  walls,  laid  by  their  own  hands.  Upon 
the  tablet  over  the  front  door  was  inscribed  "  W.  Day, 
1660."  He  was  the  builder.  As  the  belfry  rose  from 
the  middle  of  the  roof,  the  sexton  had  to  stand  in  the 
centre  of  the  church  to  ring  the  bell.  Its  pews,  placed 
around  the  eight- sided  walls,  were  occupied  by  the  men 
only  ;  the  women  sitting  in  chairs  by  themselves.  The 
Rev.  Henry  Selyns,  of  New  York,  says,  October  28, 
1682  :  "I  have  consented  to  preach  there  (Bergen)  three 
times  in  a  year,  on  IMondays,  both  morning  and  after- 
noon, and  administer  the  Lord' s  Supper.  I  found  there 
one  hundred  and  thirty -four  members."*  Here  he  con- 
tinued to  preach  for  seventeen  years,  until  1699,  with 
occasional  help  from  the  Rev.  Gualtherus  Varick,  Wil- 
liam Bartholt,  and  Henry  Lupardus. 

At  this  period,  the  Rev.  Gualtherus  Dubois  united 
with  Dominie  Selyns,  in  New  York,  when  the  charge  of 
the  Bergen  church  was  transferred  to  the  former  minister, 

!=  Ch.  Int.,  March  27,  1856. 


328  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK. 

about  the  j^ear  1700.  He  continued  liis  religious  minis- 
trations among  tliis  i^eople  over  half  a  century,  until  he 
died  in  1751.  Preparing  to  visit  Bergen  on  his  Christian 
mission,  he  was  seized  with  sudden  illness,  in  his  study, 
which  ended  his  earthly  labors  in  ten  days. 

Early  in  their  history,  this  congregation  commenced  a 
fund  to  obtain  and  secure  a  stated  ministry,  by  regular 
Sabbath  collections.  The  Indian  money  was  then'made 
of  shells,  and  called  "wampum,"  and  of  two  kinds, 
black  and  white,  the  former  worth  twice  as  much  as  the 
latter.  They  resembled  small  beads  ;  and  three  black 
or  six  white,  equalled  a  Dutch  stiver ;  twenty  stivers  a 
guilder  ;  and  the  guilder  forty-live  cents  present  United 
States  money;  not  "greenbacks,"  but  the  ever  true 
standard  of  value,  gold.  The  deacons,  it  is  related, 
purchasing  this  money,  sold  the  Avampum,  at  a  given 
value,  to  the  heads  of  families,  whose  members  de- 
posited it  in  the  collection  bag.  The  small,  black, 
velvet  articles,  attached  to  long  poles,  were  in  use  a  long 
while,  each  with  a  small  bell  at  the  bottom,  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  indifferent  or  drowsy  to  the  important 
duty  of  making  a  benefaction.  These  sub-treasuries  of 
church  Sabbath  collections  were  hung  on  pegs,  or  hooks, 
beside  the  pulpit,  near  the  deacon  s  pew,  and  this  officer 
received  the  people's  gifts.  This  venerable  custom  con- 
tinued until  about  half  a  century  ago,  and  once  in  a 
while  we  have  noticed  it  at  this  late  day. 

The  voorleser,  or  clerk  of  the  church,  occuj:)ied  a  little 
pew  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  had  a  rod,  on  the  end  of 
which  were  placed  notic^es  to  be  read,  and  which  he 
tlius  quietly  passed  up  to  the  dominie  for  publication. 


EARLIEST   CIIUECIIES   I:N"   NEW  YOEK.  339 

Tliis  little  pious  flock  at  Berg^en  has  a  most  extraordi- 
nary history,  living  and  prospering  without  a  regular 
pastor  for  ninety-three  years  !  During  this  long  pe- 
riod, amid  a  sparse  population,  the  church  register 
records  the  names  of  three  hundred  and  eighty*  who 
witnessed  a  good  confession  and  received  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. Where  can  such  another  instance  be  found  in 
our  land  ?  The  favored  time  at  last  came  for  the  congre- 
gation to  secure  a  stated  minister,  and,  on  the  1st  of 
April,  1750,  the  Rev.  Petrus  De  Wint  was  regularly 
called  here,  and  also  to  serve  the  church  on  Staten 
Island.  A  copy  of  the  call  is  still  on  record  in  the 
church  book.  Its  details  are  very  specific  to  the  respec- 
tive consistories  about  their  minister — "A  righteous 
half  of  services"  and  "  a  righteous  half  payment."  The 
Bergen  church  was  to  furnish  the  dominie  with  a  par- 
sonage and  firewood,  and  Staten  Island  "  to  give  him  an 
able  riding-horse,  with  aU.  that  belongs  to  it.  But  after- 
ward, he  to  look  out  for  his  own  riding-horse."  This 
was  the  origin,  more  than  a  century  ago,  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  in  Richmond  County,  a  beautiful 
region  settled  by  pious  Hollanders  and  Huguenots, 
whose  descendants  now  are  among  the  pillars  of  all  its 
Christian  churches.  The  island  is  only  about  twelve 
miles  long  and  three  or  four  wide,  yet  within  these  nar- 
row limits  can  be  found  a  population  of  some  thirty 
thousand,  ^\'ith  over  forty  churches  ! 

Mr.  De  Wint  commenced  his  labors  in  the  year  1751, 
but  was  never  installed,  as  it  was  deemed  necessary 
first  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  to 

*  Dr.  Taylor's  Annals  of  the  Classis  of  Bergen. 


030  j:arliest  ciiukciies  nsr  new  yoek. 

whose  jimsdictioii  all  the  churches  in  this  conntiy  then 
belonged.  A  response  was  received  from  Holland, 
\vhich  declared  him  to  be  an  impostor  and  his  creden- 
tials forgeries  !  He  was  consequently  discharged  from 
both  congregations,  and  thus  ended  the  first  efibrt  to 
secure  a  pastor  for  the  church  at  Bergen  (17o2). 

In  the  year  1752,  the  two  churches  at  Bergen  and 
Staten  Island  united  in  calling  William  Jackson,  a 
young  theological  student,  whom  they  sent  to  Holland 
to  complete  his  studies.  At  the  time,  he  Avas  prosecu- 
ting them  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  John  Freling- 
huysen,  at  Raritan  (Somerville),  jST.  J.  The  churches 
agreed  to  pay  one  hundred  pounds  towards  his  support 
while  absent,  and  he  carried  with  him  this  pleasant 
record  from  the  Consistories  :  "  Praying  God  to  take  his 
heart  into  His  fear,  and,  as  far  as  the  Lord  please,  to 
take  him  safely  over  the  wild  element,  and  return  him 
safely.  This  is  their  deed  in  true  faith."  After  an  ab- 
sence of  four  years  he  returned,  and  was  installed  in 
the  church  at  Bergen,  September  16,  1757,  nearly  ninety- 
four  years  from  its  organization. 

Shortly  after,  he  married  Anna  Frclinghuysen,  the 
daughter  of  his  old  teacher.  At  this  j)eriod,  the  un- 
happy troubles  between  the  Coetus  and  Conferentise 
parties  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  had  assumed  a 
most  serious  aspect.  The  former  were  those  Avho  advo- 
cated the  ordination  of  their  ministers  in  this  country  ; 
the  latter,  those  who  would  only  receive  such  as  were 
ordained  in  Holland.  This  churcli  continued  lier  alle- 
giance to  the  mother,  by  sending  their  dominies  to  Hol- 
land for  instruction  and  ordination.     Its  first  elders  were 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  331 

Jacob  Van  Wagenen,  Gerrit  Newkirk,  Zachariah  Sick- 
els,  and  Abraham  Dederick. 

In  December,  1771,  and  the  twelfth  year  of  George  III., 
Governor  Franklin  granted  a  charter  to  this  church,  in 
the  name  of  its  officers—"  Rev.  William  Jackson,  min- 
ister ;  Abraham  Dedericks,  Robert  Syckles,  George 
Yreeland,  and  Abraham  Syckles,  elders  ;  and  Johannis 
Van  Houten  and  Daniel  Van  Winkle,  deacons.'"^ 
Among  the  powers  of  the  corporation  was  that  of  ap- 
pointing a  clerk,  schoolmaster,  bell-ringer,  and  other 
l^roper  officers.  Thus  early  did  the  Dutch  church  at 
Bergen,  as  elsewhere,  attend  to  the  interests  of  education 
and  religion  at  the  same  time. 

This  venerable  charter,  in  the  year  1799,  was  given 
up,  when  the  other  Reformed  Dutch  churches  of  New 
Jersey  became  one  corporate  body,  according  to  an  Act 
of  its  Legislature.  In  1771-2,  the  Reformed  Dutch 
churches  in  America  separated  from  the  Synod  of  North 
Holland,  when  the  Bergen  congregation  came  under  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  Hackensack  Classis. 

During  the  ministry  of  Dominie  Jackson,  a  new  sanc- 
tuary, of  stone,  forty -five  by  sixty  feet,  took  the  place 
of  the  old  octagonal  one,  in  the  year  1773.  It  had  a 
tower  and  steeple.  The  doors  and  windows,  arched, 
were  ornamented  with  small-sized  imported  Holland 
brick.  Here  is  a  copy  of  the  inscription  over  the  en- 
trance : 

KERK  GEBOUWT  IN  IIET  YAER  1680. 

-       HER   BOUWT   IN   HET 

Yaer  1173. 
*  Dr.  Taylor's  Aunals  of  Bergen. 


332  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IX   NEW  YORK. 

Its  former  legend,  with  other  inscription  stones,  was 
placed  in  the  new  walls,  and  its  material  used  in  the 
erection  of  the  new  edifice.  The  pulpit  was  made  after 
the  old  style,  standing  on  a  single  pillar,  to  accommo- 
date only  one  dominie,  and  having  a  large  sounding- 
board,  a  striking  ajipendage  no  longer  to  be  seen  in 
modern  churches.  The  seats  were  sold  as  "sittings" 
only,  and  at  the  death  of  the  owner  descended  to  the 
next  relation,  on  the  payment  of  six  shillings  ;  and  this 
was  called  an  "  heir-seat. "  If  not  paid  for  in  a  speci- 
fied time,  it  was  sold  to  any  purchaser  for  one  dollar. 
"  Family  pews,"  so  aristocratic  and  yet  common  in  some 
congregations  of  our  day,  were  not  common  then. 
Within  these  hallowed  walls.  Dominie  Jackson' s  faith- 
ful warning  and  cheering  voice  continued  to  be  heard 
man}^  years.  He  was  a  learned,  able  divine,  and,  in  the 
year  1763,  received  the  degree  of  M.  A.  from  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  subsequently  the  same  academic  honor  was 
conferred  by  Columbia  and  Princeton.  In  the  Dutch 
language,  it  is  said,  he  became  especially  a  powerful 
orator,  and,  as  a  field  preacher,  second  only  to  White- 
field. 

Zealously  ministering  to  the  people  at  Bergen,  and  on 
Staten  Island,  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  then 
became  occasionally  subject  to  mental  aberration.  This 
was  very  afflictive,  and,  although  his  heart  and  mind 
engaged  in  the  sacred  work,  at  times  he  would  say 
things  to  disturb  the  devout  feelings  of  the  congregation. 
On  one  occasion,  it  is  related,  he  was  preaching  to  a 
large  assembly,  and  continuing  the  discourse  to  a  very 
unusual  length,    an   intimate  friend,    the   Hon.    James 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  333 

Scliureman,  admonished  liim  of  tlie  time  "by  holding  up 
his  watch.  But  the  dominie,  eying  him  keenly, 
exclaimed,  "Scliureman!  Schureman !  put  up  your 
watch;- Paul  preached  till  midnight!"  He  then  con- 
tinued his  sermon  with  fresh  zeal. 

In  1789,  retiring  from  the  pulpit,  the  church  secured 
to  him,  for  life,  the  parsonage,  with  the  adjacent  lands, 
and  administered  to  his  wants  until  death,  July  25,  1813, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two,  and  nearly  twenty-four 
years  after  his  release  from  the  pulpit.  His  ashes  rest, 
with  those  of  his  wife  and  two  children,  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  church  where  he  so  long  and  so  faithfully 
preached  Christ  and  Him  crucified.  A  plain  marble 
monument  marks  the  silent  spot  at  Bergen.  With  the 
termination  of  Mr.  Jackson's  ministry,  the  Bergen  and 
Staten  Island  congregations  dissolved  their  connection, 
which  had  continued  for  thirty-nine  years. 

A  baptismal  record  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  at 
Port  Richmond,  date  1696,  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
years  ago,  has  been  recently  discovered.  It  is  about 
eight  by  twelve  inches  in  size,  nearly  three  inches  thick, 
bound  in  sheepskin.  The  entries  are  in  a  legible  hand 
by  various  persons,  probably  all  clerks  of  the  Consis- 
tory ;  and  most  of  them  in  Dutch,  still  continuing  so 
down  to  December  12,  1745.  Some  time  between  that 
period  and  1786,  Aris  Ryersz  became  clerk,  and  thence- 
forth all  the  entries  are  in  English.  He  sets  forth,  be- 
fore commencing  his  labors,  that  what  follows  is  an 
"  account  of  the  children  baptized  by  the  Rev.  William 
Jackson,  in  his  presence,  while  or  since  he  was  chosen 
by  the  church  to  act  as  clerk  of  the  Reformed  Protestant 


334  EARLIEST   CHUKCHES   IN  NEW   YORK. 

Dutcli  Churcli  at  the  North  side."  The  statements  of 
baptisms  cease  on  Sunda}^  November  14,  1790,  Ayhen 
Miriam,  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Post,  was  baptized, 
she  being  then  three  months  and  fourteen  days  old,  as 
the  record  tells,  and  a  fee  of  two  shillings  was  paid  by 
the  2:)arents — Avhether  to  the  minister  or  the  clerk,  does 
not  appear,  but  probably  to  the  latter.  On  the  Thurs- 
day previous  to  this  date,  Mr.  Jackson  having  ceased  to 
be  pastor  of  the  churcli,  the  clerk  enters  the  fact  that 
Magdalen,  a  daughter  of  Johannes  Merrill,  Jun.,  was 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Stryker,  who  had  on  that 
day  been  "ordained,  or,  rather,  installed  in  our  church 
by  Mr.  Livingston." 

In  the  Dutch  portion  of  the  record,  the  name  of  the 
father,  and  the  maiden  name  of  the  mother,  are  given. 
The  whole  entry  runs  thus  : 


"A°.   1724,  den  19™  July. 


Ruterers. 


Dick  Cadmus. 
Jannetje  Van  Hoorn. 


Jan  Van  Hoorn. 
Antie  Van  Hoorn." 


The  parents  are  named  on  the  middle  column,  and  the 
witnesses  in  the  last.  Many  of  the  families  were  evi- 
dently from  Bergen,  their  descendants  still  residing 
where  their  fathers  did,  but  the  larger  portion  were, 
doubtless,  from  the  island.  It  is  curious  to  observe  the 
changes  which  have  occurred  in  names.  I  find  Huys- 
man,  now  written  Houseman  ;  Thyszen,  Tysen  ;  Sweem, 
Swain  ;  in  de  Mersereaux,  the  x  and  the  de  are  now 
omitted.  Van  Namen,  now  written  without  the  last  n  ; 
Hagewout  has  become  Haughwout ;  de  Dekker,  Decker ; 
Seguin,  Seguine ;  De  Bau,  Dubois ;  Symonz,  Simonson 


EAELIEST   CIIUKCIIES    IN   NEW   YORK.  335 

(perhaps) ;  Manez,  Monee  ;  and  so  almost  without  end, 
while  many  other  names  do  not  exist  among  us,  either 
in  their  original  shape,  or  changed.  I  instance  Ahasu- 
erus  Van  Engelen,  Jolian  Staats,  Auke  Tanz,  Jaques 
Clendeny,  Sara  du  Chesne,  Chrystiaan  Van  Tuyl, 
Gozen  Adriaanz,  Jacob  de  Grameaux,  Dirkje  van  Til- 
bui'gli,  Johannes  Richaud,  Albert  Janszen,  Jan  Philip 
Sumsenbach,  Cathrina  Pikkerling,  Adre  Escord,  Laurens 
de  Camp.  I  might  enlarge  the  list  to  a  much  greater 
extent. 

We  have  examined  this  old  record,  in  many  respects 
so  very  curious,  and  esj)ecially  valuable  and  interest- 
ing to  the  society  where  it  belongs.  The  fact  that  it  has 
not  been  seen  for  nearly  fifty  years  by  the  officers  of  the 
church,  should  make  them  prize  it  more  highly,  now 
that  it  has  come  to  light. 

In  1792,  the  Bergen  church  uniting  with  that  of  Eng- 
lish Neighborhood,  called  the  Rev.  John  Cornelison, 
which  he  accepting,  discharged  the  double  duty  until 
December,  1806,  when  he  confined  his  sole  labors,  dur- 
ing life,  to  the  Bergen  congregation,  and  he  finished  his 
course,  March,  1828.  Until  his  settlement,  the  public 
services  of  the  sanctuary  appear  to  have  been  uniform- 
ly conducted  in  the  Dutch  language.  The  Baptismal 
Register  was  alike  written  in  Dutch  until  1809. 


336  EARLIEST   CIIUrvCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

BERGEN DOMINIE    COKNELISON    PREACHES  IN    DUTCH  AND    ENGLISH 

TEACHES    THE    SLAVES    TO    READ SUCCESSORS REV.    DR.    TAYLOR 

STILL    PREACHING  AT    BERGEN LAST    SERVICES  IN  THE  OLD  CHURCH 

- — NEW  ED^ICE  DEDICATED "  VAN  "  A  COMMON    PREFIX    TO    DUTCH 

NAMES HACKENSACK REV.    P.    TASCHEMAKER    THE    FIRST    DOMINIE 

(1686) MURDERED  AFTERWARDS  BY  THE  INDIANS  AT  SCHENECTADY 

HIS  '  SUCCESSORS      IN      HACKENSACK ACQUACANONCK      CHURCH 

ERECTED INITIALS  OF  FOUNDERS  ON  THE   CORNER-STONES CHURCH 

ORGANIZED    AT    RARITAN    BY  REV.  MR.  BERTHOLF —  CHURCH    BUILT  AT 

SCHRAALENBERGH    (1724) REV.    GUALTHERUS     DUBOIS DOMINIES 

- — "  CCETUS  AND  CONFERENTI^  " DRS.  KUYPERS  AND  BOMEYN,  PAS- 
TORS  THE  REVOLUTION  AND  ITS  TROUBLES CHURCH  AT  HACKEN- 
SACK REBUILT SUBSCRIPTIONS   (l79l)   STILL  STANDING. 

BERGEN. 

Dominie  Cornelison  now  performed  public  services 
in  Dutch  and  English.  He  particularly  attended  to  the 
important  duty  of  catechishig  the  children,  and  instruct- 
ing the  colored  people,  many  of  whom  were  then  slaves. 
For  their  benefit,  he  had  a  special  service  in  his  own 
house,  teaching  some  of  them  to  read,  and  others  were 
admitted  to  the  communion  of  his  church.  How  worthy 
of  imitation  at  this  hour,  when  so  many  thousands  of 
this  unfortunate  race  have  been  unexpectedl}^  made 
freedmen  in  our  land  ! 

In  1826  this  church  was  repaired,  and  a  modern 
pulpit,  with  family  i)eAvs,  introduced.     All  owners  of 


EAKLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOUK.  337 

"sittings"  were  repaid  tlieir  original  valuation.  On  the 
20tli  of  March,  1828,  this  man  of  God,  full  of  faith  and 
good  works,  yielded  his  spirit  to  Heaven,  aged  fifty- 
eight  years  and  nine  months.  During  his  pastorate,  he 
received  into  his  churches  three  hundred  and  eight 
members.  In  the  Christian's  hopes,  his  remains  were 
buried  with  the  dead  of  the  "Old  Graveyard,"  Bergen, 
and  on  the  site,  traditionally  said,  of  the  earliest  Dutch 
chui'ch.  A  marble  monument  commemorates  his  virtues 
and  piety,  and  is  placed  in  the  wall,  near  the  elders' 
pew.  During  the  year  1828,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  C. 
Taylor,  D.  D.,  became  pastor  of  the  Bergen  congrega- 
tion, where  he  still  is  spared  to  preach  Christ  to  the 
l^eoi^le  (18C4).  Thirty-six  years  have  rolled  away  since 
his  installation,  and  a  generation  of  men  passed  off  the 
earth  with  them.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety-six 
earliest  communicants,  but  few  survive,  and  up  to  the 
year  1857,  this  faithful  minister  had  followed  to  the 
grave  eight  hundred  and  fift}^  from  his  entire  pastoral 
charge  !  What  changes  has  he  witnessed  in  the  church, 
and  among  the  people  ! 

Dr.  Taylor  commenced  preaching  in  the  old  stone 
church  at  Bergen,  but  at  the  time  recently  remodelled  ; 
many  of  its  worshippers  then  appearing  in  their  plain 
Dutch  apparel,  of  domestic  manufacture.  Some  females 
wore  the  old-fashioned  black  silk  bonnet,  not  unlike  the 
Friends,  and  these,  removed  during  the  service,  ex- 
hibited the  neat,  beautiful,  and  snow-white  caps.  Only 
young  girls  ventured  to  wear  the  expensive  straw  or 
braid  hats.     In  almost  every  pew,  venerable  forms  and 

hoary  heads  might  be  seen,  listening  to  the  invitations 
92 


338  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   11^   NEW    YORK. 

of  the  Gospel.  These,  too,  with  tlie  old  church,  have 
now  all  passed  away  ! 

On  Sabbath,  July  25,  1841,  the  last  public  services 
took  place  in  the  old  tabernacle,  where  for  sixty-eight 
years  the  Lord  had  been  worshipped  in  this  His  holy 
temple,  and  upon  the  same  sacred  spot  several  genera- 
tions had  called  upon  His  holy  name,  during  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  years.  In  the  morning,  the  pastor 
selected  for  his  text  the  beautiful  words  of  the  Prophet 
Isaiah,  liv.  2,  3:  "Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and 
let  them  stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  thine  habita- 
tions," &c. 

On  tli«-  26th  of  August,  1841,  Dr.  Taylor,  its  pastor, 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church,  and  he  dedi- 
cated it  July  14th  following,  delivering  a  sermon  from 
Isaiah  vii.  8:  "I  will  glorify  the  house  of  my  glory. 
Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud  and  as  the  doves  to 
their  windows  ?" 

Upon  both  these  occasions,  some  of  the  most  eminent 
ministers  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  attended, 
taking  part  in  the  solemn  exercises  ;  and  among  them 
Drs.  De  Witt,  Knox,  Van  Vranken,  Vermilye,  Brown- 
lee,  Hardenbergh ;  the  Rev.  Messrs.  May,  Marcellus, 
Garretson,  Boice,  Demund,  Bogardus,  Chapman,  Lusk, 
James  Stuart,  and  others. 

The  new  edifice  is  commanding  and  beautiful,  sixty- 
four  by  eighty-four  feet  in  its  dimensions,  surmounted 
by  a  cupola.     It  will  seat  twelve  liundred  persons. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that,  at  one  period,  there  were 
thirty-five  pew-holders  in  this  congregation  having  the 
prelix  of  Van  to  their  names,  and  of  these,  tAventy-two 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  339 

were  Van  Vreelands.  The  Van  Winkles,  Van  Horns, 
Vail  Rej^pers,  Van  Boskirks,  iNewkirks,  Cadmuses,  &c., 
were  also  very  numerous.* 

Thus,  upon  this  time-honored  and  hallowed  ground 
liave  three  stone  churches  been  erected,  and  have  had 
only  three  pastors.  At  least  seven  new  Reformed  Butch 
congregations  have  been  constituted,  in  part  or  whole, 
from  this  venerable  spiritual  mother.  May  God  be 
glorified  by  succeeding  generations,  in  these  sacred 
courts ! 

"  Happy  sons  of  Israel, 
Who  in  pleasant  Canaan  dwell ; 
Happy  they,  but  happier  we, 
If  Jeliovah's  own  wo  be. 

"  Happy  citizens  who  wait 
Within  Salem's  hallowed  gate; 
Happy  they,  but  happier  we, 
Who  the  heavenly  Salem  see." 

BoNAu's  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  church  of  Hackensack,  New 
Jersey,  was  the  next  founded  to  the  one  at  Bergen.  Its 
records  show  that  as  early  as  the  j^ear  1686,  the  Rev. 
Peter  Taschemaker  organized  this  congregation,  with 
thirty-three  communicants.  As  far  as  opportunity 
would  permit,  he  visited  this  infant  flock,  and  adminis- 
tered the  Lord's  Supper  to  them,  until  the  year  1689. 
He  had  been  once  settled  at  New  Amstel  (New  Castle), 
on  the  Delaware,  and  experiencing  sore  difficulties 
there,  he  next  became  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
church  in  Schenectady.  Whilst  laboring  in  this  new 
field,  that  terrible  massacre  took  place,  on  a  winter's 

*  Barber's  (New  Jersey)  Hist.  Col.,  p.  229. 


840  EAKLIEST   CHUliCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

night,  wliicli  destroyed  the  place  hy  fire  and  tomahawk. 
This  venerable  man,  with  liis  wife  and  two  colored  ser- 
vants, was  cruelly  murdered  "by  the  savages,  and  he  fell 
a  martyred  victim  in  the  midst  of  his  pious  flock. 
Many  of  his  people  were  slaughtered  witli  him.* 

The  Eev.  Rudolphus  Van  Yarick,  in  the  year  1689, 
preached  at  Hackensack,  and  administered  the  Supper 
of  the  Lord.  To  some,  these  services  may  seem  scarce 
worth  reciting  ;  but  we  are  writing  esj)ecially  of  the  old- 
est cliurches,  and  the  smallest  circumstances  have  some 
liistoric  value,  and  should  be  carefully  preserved. 
When  no  minister  could  be  present  at  Hackensack,  the 
important  "Voorleser''  led  their  devotions,  and  read 
a  sermon  from  some  sound  Dutch  author.  This  was 
Guillaume  Bertholft,  who  was  also  the  catechiser  and 
schoolmaster.  So  usefully  did  he  discharge  these  im- 
portant duties,  that  the  people  desired  him  to  become 
their  ministei',  and,  at  their  exjpense,  he  went  to  Holland 
for  this  purpose.  There  receiving  ordination  in  1693,  and 
returning  to  America  the  following  3^ear,  he  was  installed 
the  first  regular  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
in  New  Jersey.  In  his  call  the  congregation  at  Acqua- 
canonck  also  united.  They  were  a  happ}^  ^Deople  now, 
and,  Avith  tlieir  dominie,  collected  the  wood  and  stone 
at  Hackensack,  to  build  a  sanctuary  for  their  God,  the 
Living  God.  William  Day  and  John  Stage  were  the 
master-builders  of  the  Bergen  church  in  1680,  and  we 
find  them  engaged  in  the  erection  of  this  temple.  In 
its  wall,  over  tlK^  entrance,  was  inscribed,  in  rude  in- 
dented letters  : 

*  Reformed  Dutch  Church  Magazine,  vol.  ii.  p.  328. 


EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW    YORK.  341 

WILA:  DAY 
lOHN     STAGE 

ANNO   1696. 

The  fathers  in  this  little  Israel  rejoiced,  it  seemed,  to 
have  their  names  or  initials  indented  on  the  church- 
stones  ;  and  in  all  tlie  changes  of  rebuilding,  these  ven- 
erable mementoes  have  been  carefully  preserved,  and 
may  to  this  hour  be  seen  and  read  on  the  eastern  wall 
of  the  present  Hackensack  sanctuary.  On  this  sacred 
spot,  where  the  earliest  foundations  of  the  Lord's  house 
were  laid  in  the  village,  has  His  w^orship  been  continued 
from  generation  to  generation  for  more  than  sixty  years. 
Delightful  and  sublime  thought ! 

Mr.  Bertholf  had  many  seals  to  his  ministry  during 
thirty  years'  Gospel  labors,  when  they  terminated  by 
his  death,  peacefully,  in  the  year  1724.  He  organized 
the  church  at  Raritaji  about  1700,  and  the  one  in  Philip's 
manor  (Tarry  town),  1697.  With  his  death,  the  connection 
between  the  congregations  of  Hackensack  and  Acquaca- 
nonck  also  ceased ;  the  Rev.  Henry  Coens  following  him 
in  the  latter,  and  the  Rev.  Reinhart  Errickson,  from  Hol- 
land, taking  the  former  charge,  1725.  During  tlie  year 
1724,  the  church  at  Schraalenbergh  was  founded,  and  its 
first  edifice  built  in  1725  ;  and  its  history  was  a  long  time 
identified  with  Hackensack.  In  1728,  Mr.  Errickson, 
resigning  the  charge  of  these  congregations,  became  pas- 
tor of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  at  Schenectady — 
thence  removed  to  Freehold,  1758.  When  he  retired, 
steps  were  taken  to  rebuild  the  church,  and,  as  before, 
the  stones  of  the  earlier  tabernacle  were  used  in  the  new 


342  EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW    YOEK. 

one  ;  and  during  its  erection,  that  eminent  and  vigilant 
servant  of  the  Lord,  the  Rev.  Gualtherus  Dubois,  of 
New  York,  watched  over  this  flock.  In  his  absence, 
the  punctual  "  Voorleser"  continued  religious  services. 

In  1730,  the  Rev,  Antonius  Curtenius  became  the  next 
pastor,  and,  in  1748,  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Goetschius  was  ap- 
pointed his  assistant.  Tlie  former  took  charge  of  the 
Dutch  church  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island,  in  1755,  where 
he  died  the  following  year,  aged  liftj^-eight.^-  For  a 
quarter  of  a  century  he  had  guided  the  flock  of  Christ 
at  Hackensack  and  Schraalenbergh,  which  then  em- 
braced the  present  townships  of  Harrington,  Washing- 
ton, and  Hackensack. 

Mr.  Goetschius  was  the  son  of  a  German  minister,  sent 
over  to  labor  in  Philadelphia  among  his  countrymen. 
He  is  represented  as  "a  gentleman  of  profound  erudi- 
tion, a  thorough-bred  Calvinist,  and  an  accomplished 
theologian." 

About  this  period  the  two  churches  seriously  felt  the 
bad  influences  of  the  old  "Goetus"  and  "  Conferentise" 
dispute,  which  continued  until  1722.  The  churches  at 
Hackensack  and  Schraalenbergh  in  fact  divided  into  four 
party  congregations,  although  there  was  only  one  church 
edifice  in  each  place.  Next  succeeded  as  i')astors  over 
these  congregations  the  Rev.  Mr.  Schuyler,  about  1759  ; 
Cornelius  Blaum,  1768  ;  about  the  same  period,  the  Rev. 
Warmoldus  Kuyi^ers  ;  and  the  Rev.  Dirck  Romeyn, 
1775.  He  was  a  native  of  Hackensack,  a  graduate  of 
Princeton  in  1765,  and  from  Queens,  now  Rutgers  Col- 
lege, received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.,  1789.     Dr. 

*  Stouo's  nidtory  of  Flatbuah. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   WEW   YORK.  343 

Romeyii  became  an  eminently  pious  and  able  dominie. 
In  1784,  he  took  charge  of  the  congregation  at  Schenec- 
tady, preaching  there  until  his  Master  called  him  to  the 
never-ending  bliss  and  rest.  He  was  also  chosen  a  Pro- 
fessor of  Theology  in  1797. 

The  War  of  the  Revolution  increased  the  internal 
troubles  of  these  churches,  some  more  warmly  espousing 
the  cause  of  Independence  than  others  ;  and  hence  arose 
political  controversies  also.  In  1790,  this  whole  church 
difference  was  happily  reconciled  by  "Articles  of 
Union  ;"  and  thus  these  religious  difficulties,  which  had 
increased  for  forty  years,  now  terminated.  People  so 
long  separated  could  unite  in  zeal,  good  works,  and 
piety.  The  old-fashioned  octagonal  stone  church  at 
Hackensack  required  remodelling,  or  to  be  rebuilt.  It 
had  served  its  sacred  purposes  during  sixty  years  ! 
There  is  an  amusing  tradition  about  the  venerable  tem- 
ple. The  united  congregations  were  to  assemble,  exam- 
ine, and  determine  what  was  best  to  be  done.  The 
young  folks,  however,  ever  watchful  on  such  occasions, 
met  before  the  others  had  arrived,  and  they  soon  re- 
moved the  old  pews,  chairs,  benches,  &c.,  from  the 
sacred  edifice,  and  placed  them  on  the  "  green,"  or  pub- 
lic s.quare.  When  the  congregation  arrived,  and  saw 
how  the  question  had  been  practically  determined,  they 
voted  to  rebuild.* 

A  copy  of  the  "Plan  for  Rebuilding  the  Church  at 
Hackensack,  A.  D.  1790,"  now  lies  before  me,  and  it 
contains  some  curious  provisions. 

"The  old  church  shall  be  broke  down,  and  upon  the 

*  Dr.  Taylor's  Armals  of  Bergen. 


344  EAELIEST  CIIUKCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

same  ground  the  new  one  shall  be  erected,  and  of  the 
following  dimensions,  viz.  :  forty-eight  by  sixty  feet, 
with  two  galleries."  "The  inside  of  the  dinrch  shall 
be  furnished  with  pews,  without  making  any  distinc- 
tion betAveen  men's  and  women's  pews." 

"A  pew  for  ministers'  families,  also  a  magistrate's 
pew  (the  latter  shall  be  particularly  constructed,  and 
have  a  canojoy  over  it"). 

One  liundred  and  thirty-two  signatures  were  attached 
to  this  document,  of  which  forty-nine  are  in  the  English 
Language,  and  eighty-three  Dutch.  The  subscriptions 
amounted  to  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds 
nine  shillings,  and  among  the  largest  we  notice  those  of 
Peter  Zabriskie,  forty  pounds ;  Isaac  Van  Gieson, 
Archibald  Campbell,  John  Powelson,  iifteen  pounds 
each  ;  Nelieraiali  Wade,  Henry  Berry,  twelve  pounds  ; 
Adam  Boyd,  Adolph  Waldi'on,  Johii  Zabriskie,  David 
Anderson,  John  Yarick,  Elias  Brevoort,  Abraham  Kipp, 
Richard  Terhune,  John  Earl,  Peter  Kipp,  Jacob  Ter- 
hune,  Jacobus  Huysman,  Albert  J.  Voorhose,  Samuel 
Berry,  Nicunsie  Terhune,  and  Albert  C.  Zabriskie,  ten 
pounds  each,  &c.,  «&c.  The  following  Avere  appointed 
"managers,"  or  building  committee.  "Messrs.  John 
Earle,  George  Doremus,  Henry  Berry,  Gasparus  West- 
ervelt.  Jacobus  Paulison.  and  Isaac  Vanderbeck, 
Jr." 

The  people  personally  labored,  too,  collecting  the  tim- 
ber, stones,  and  other  building  materials,  and  thus,  in 
the  year  1791,  erected  a  new  tabernacle  for  the  Lord. 
There  it  still  stands,  with  its  graceful  spire  running  up 
towards   heaven,   and  the  joyful   sounds   of  salvation 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  345 

have  been  proclaimed  witliin  its  hallowed  courts  for 
almost  three-quarters  of  a  century. 
Over  the  door  was  this  inscription  : 

"Eexbracht  maakt  Macht." 
(Uniou  makes  Strength.) 

Like  the  former  house,  stones  were  placed  in  this,  with 
the  indented  names  of  prominent  church-members. 
George  Doremus,  Albert  C.  Zabrisky,  Henry  Berry, 
1791 ;  John  Paulison,  Peter  Zabriskie,  1791  ;  Margaret 
Houseman,  Isaac  Van  Gieson,  Nickase  Terhune,  Jacob 
Brinkerhoof,  1792. 

In  this  new  temple  of  God,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Kuypers 
and  Frseligh  officiated  alternately,  until  the  former  re- 
tired, on  account  of  bodily  inlirmities. 


346  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK, 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

REMARKABLE      STORM     (1795) THE      STEEPLE     OF      THE     HACKKNSACK 

CHURCH    STRUCK    BY     LIGHTNING;     ITS    LEGEND     BROKEN DR.   LINn's 

ABLE    DISCOURSE DOMINIE     BECOMES     AN     "EMERITUs"    MINISTER 

THREE    SONS    IN    THE    SACRED    OFFICE REV.    JAMES    V.   C.   ROMEYN 

NEW     CHURCH     BUILT SECESSION THE     LEADERS DR.     ROMEYn's 

SON    CALLED    TO    TAKE    HIS    PLACE CHURCH    ENLARGED   (1847)    AND 

LEGEND    REMOVED EMINENT    DEAD    IN    HACKENSACK    GRAVEYARD: 

GENERAL  POOR,  DR.  PETER  WILSON,  COLONEL  VARICK,  &C. SCHRAA- 

LENBERGH — ENGLISH  NEIGHBORHOOD LAND    GIVEN    FOR  A  CHURCH, 

WHICH    WAS     ERECTED     (1765);     MR.    CORNELISON     THE     DOMINIE 

SUCCESSORS  CHURCH      DIFFICULTIES  THE       "TRUE       REFORMED 

church" DECISION  OF    SUPREME    COURT  ADVERSE  TO    SECESSION 

SECEDERS  ERECT  NEW  CHURCHES REV.  MR.  ABEEL D.  DURYEA,  HIS 

DEATH  AND  MONUMENT REV.  MR.  MCFARLANE  AND   P.   B.  TAYLOR. 

But  this  united  congregation  did  not  long  enjoy  their 
"union,"  effected  only  live  years  before,  for  a  long 
period  of  contention  now  ensued.  Their  dominie,  Mr. 
Frseligh,  took  a  prominent  part  in  securing  the  desired 
union,  and  now  he  was  comiDelled  to  witness  its  dissolu- 
tion. On  the  10th  day  of  July,  1795,  a  remarkable 
storm  occurred  at  Hackeiisack.  It  arose  suddenly,  and 
was  most  violent ;  with  terrific  Hashes  of  lightning  and 
peals  of  thunder.  In  one  explosion,  the  electric  fluid 
struck  the  church-steeple,  greatly  damaging  it,  and,  in 
its  descent  to  the  earth,  broke  the  legend  in  three  pieces. 
"Eendracht"  was  upon  one  broken  fragment,  and 
"maakt  Macht"  on  another.  The  superstitious,  of 
course,  thought  this  ominous. 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  347 

In  the  year  1795,  the  Eeformed  Dutch  church  at 
Hackensack  petitioned  the  Synod  to  be  separated  from 
that  of  Schraah^nbergh.  The  Synod  referred  this  peti- 
tion to  Dominies  Livingston,  Linn,  and  Condit,  with 
Messrs.  Lowe  and  Studdiford.  In  1796,  the  committee 
met  the  respective  congregations,  when  Dr.  Linn  deliv- 
ered his  celebrated  and  able  discourse,  on  Matt.  v.  9  : 
"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers:  for  they  shaU  be  called 
the  children  of  God."  The  preacher  beautifully  refer- 
red to  the  lightning  that  recently  descended  upon  the 
Lord's  house,  in  which  his  hearers  were  now  assembled. 
"  Surely,"  he  said,  "you  may  learn  from  it  an  important 
and  affecting  lesson.  While  it  recalls  you  to  duty  in 
this  life,  let  it  impress  you  with  the  thought  of  those 
dreadful  thunders  which  shall  usher  in  the  last  judg- 
ment, and  those  fires  which  shall  burn  up  this  earth  and 
all  the  works  that  are  therein  ;  of  that  tremendous  day, 
when  all  who  hate  God  and  their  neighbor  shall  be  pun- 
ished with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of  His  power. 

"To  conclude,  if  the  commission  of  Synod  shall  be 
so  happy  as  to  accomplish  a  reconciliation,  a  new  stone 
shall  be  engraven  and  brought  to  its  place,  with  honors 
and  triumph.  Unhurt  by  any  dark  cloud,  it  shall  re- 
main a  monument  to  late  posterity  of  restored  love  and 
friendship.  But,  if  a  separation  shall  be  judged  expe- 
dient, let  the  broken  stone  continue  as  an  emblem  of  dis- 
united brethren.  In  either  case,  the  peacemakers  sliaU 
obtain  their  reward." 

The  immediate  results  of  this  mission,  was  a  continu- 
ance of  the  union,  but  for  years  the  differences  between 


348  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   lis    IN'EW   YORK. 

the  cliurclies  remained,  and  we  need  follow  them  no 
further.  In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  at  tlie  request 
of  his  son,  the  Rev.  Gerardus  A.  Kuypers,  New  York, 
the  venerable  Dominie  Kuypers  obtained  his  dismission 
from  the  Classis  of  Haclvensack,  and  became  an  emeri- 
tus minister,  the  congregations  settling  on  him  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  pounds  per  annum  during  life.  This 
was  a  liberal  and  honorable  arrangement,  but  only  five 
days  afterwards,  this  father  in  Israel,  now  worn  out  in 
his  Master's  service,  in  September,  1797,  was  released 
from  all  worldly  cares  and  toils.  He  was  sixty-five 
years  old :  in  the  forty-third  of  his  ministry,  having 
diligently  served  as  jjastor  of  these  churches  about 
thirty  years.  His  remains  were  interred  under  the 
church  floor,  and  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  where  he  had 
so  long  preached  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ. 

Three  sons  survived  him — ministers  of  the  same  pre- 
cious Grospel  which  the  pious  father  declared — Gerar- 
dus, Zecharias,  and  William,  and  all  of  them,  too,  have 
joined  him  in  the  happy  spirit-land.  The' Rev.  James 
V.  C.  Romeyn  succeeded  Mr.  Kuypers,  taking  the 
charge  of  the  Schraalenbergh  congregation,  when  a  new 
and  noble  tabernacle  was  built  in  its  place.  It  has  a 
tower  and  very  lofty  steeple,  and  the  whole  work  is  a 
monument  of  the  energy  and  liberality  of  those  who 
built  it.  The  beautiful,  though  antique  pulpit,  witli  the 
old-fashioned  sounding-board,  was  removed  in  1843, 
and  a  neat  modern  one  substituted,  by  the  liberality  of 
a  private  member.  Here  Mr.  Romeyn  served  his  flock 
with  talent,  pri^dence,  and  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 

Dr.  Frjcligh's  people  also  erected  a  new  church  at 


EARLIEST  CBTUECHES   IX   NEW   YORK.  349 

Scliraalenbergli,  in  wliicli  lie  preached,  when  new  diffi- 
culties arose  about  the  ownership  of  their  old  one,  be- 
tween the  two  congregations.  The  doctor's  party,  at 
last,  in  the  year  1822,  seceded  from  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  and  constituted  the  "True  Reformed  Dutch 
Church."  Four  ministers  besides  himself,  with  seven 
congregations  and  their  consistories,  formed  themselves 
into  the  ecclesiastical  association. 

The  ministers  uniting  with  Dr.  Frseligh  in  this  move- 
ment, were  the  Rev.  Abm.  Brokaw,  Sloanus  Palmer, 
Jno.  C.  Zol,  Henry  Y.  Wyckoff.  The  doctor  was  cited  to 
api)ear  before  the  General  Synod,  but,  not  appearing, 
a  second  citation  was  served,  when  he  answered,  "he 
should  reply  to  it."  The  Synod  then  "  Resolved,  That 
Dr.  Frseligh  is  hereby  suspended  from  his  office  as  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel,"  and  the  Classis  of  Paramus  was 
directed  to  depose  his  consistory  from  office,  and  to  or- 
ganize a  new  one  in  the  late  congregation  of  Dr.  Frseligh. 

But  why  record  these  dissensions  ?  Many  know  not 
how  this  protracted  separation  originated ;  and  the 
writer,  as  a  faithful  chronicler,  could  not  justly  with- 
hold this  part  of  his  narrative.  He  presents  nothing 
conjectural,  as  his  information  is  derived  from  the  official 
records.  It  is  a  great  blessing,  too,  that  with  these  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  the  pastors  of  all  the  various  Dutch 
congregations  found  favor  with  the  people  of  their 
respective  charges,  and  the  Lord  blessed  their  efforts. 

Mr.  Romeyn,  continuing  his  Gospel  labors  in  the 
double  charges  of  Hackensack  and  Scliraalenbergli,  be- 
gan to  be  affected  by  bodily  infirmities.  Mr.  Cole,  the 
pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Tappan,  dis- 


•']i50  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

tant  only  six  miles,  his  ministerial  services  were  secured 
for  the  latter  place  every  alternate  Sabbath. 

In  August,  1832,  Dominie  Romeyn  was  suddenly 
stricken  down  by  paralysis,  and,  during  the  following 
February,  desired  to  be  released  from  his  relations  at 
Schraalenbergh.  This  was  granted,  with  pious  and 
hearty  gratitude  to  the  venerable  pastor,  for  thirty 
years'  devoted  labor  in  that  congregation. 

On  the  next  day,  the  consistory  of  Hackensack  called 
the  Rev.  James  Romeyn,  son  of  their  aged  pastor,  to 
become  the  colleague  of  liis  i)ious  father.  From  the 
tune  he  commenced  his  ministerial  duties,  the  aged 
parent  retained  nominally,  only,  the  pastoral  relations. 
His  last  public  labor  was  a  funeral  sermon  in  Dutch, 
over  one  of  his  most  aged  church-members.  He  finally 
resigned  his  pastorship,  which  had  existed  during 
thirty -five  years,  and  on  the  27th  of  June,  1840,  God 
called  him  to  the  Christian's  eternal  rewards,  aged 
seventy-five  years. 

His  son,  occupying  the  pulpit  until  1836,  took  charge 
of  the  Dutch  church  at  Catskill,  New  York,  when  Rev. 
A.  H.  Warner  succeeded  him.  In  1847  the  church  was 
enlarged,  and  the  broken  legend,  which  we  have  noticed, 
removed  from  the  front  to  the  rear  of  the  building.  The 
new  one,  occupying  its  place,  has  this  inscription  : 

REFORMED 
PROTESTANT 

DUTCH    church: 

ERECTED  A.  D.  1096. 
REBUILT  A.  D.  1728.    REBUILT  A.  D.  1791, 

"Hov,'  amiable  arc  tliy  tabernacles.  0  Lord  of  liosts." — Ps.  Ixxxiv.  1. 


EARLIEST   CHUECTTES   IN   NEW   YORK.  351 

In  the  year  1855,  a  colony  left  tliis  congregation  to 
constitute  the  Second  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Hack- 
ensack. 

Many  of  the  eminent  dead  have  been  interred  in  the 
graveyard  of  the  old  Hackensack  church.  Washing- 
ton and  Lafayette  attended  the  funeral  of  Brigadier- 
General  Enoch  Poor,  whose  remains  lie  here,  and  who 
died  in  1780.  Here,  too,  mingle  with  mother  earth  the 
ashes  of  the  learned  Peter  Wilson,  LL.  D.,  professor  of 
languages  for  half  a  century  in  Columbia  College,  a  zeal- 
ous patriot  and  a  devout  Christian,  dying  in  1825,  at  the 
good  old  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  More  eminent 
New  Yorkers  have  received  their  classical  training  un- 
der his  teaching  than  from  any  other  professor.  Colo- 
nel Richard  Varick,  of  Revolutionary  history,  onco 
mayor  of  New  York  city,  president  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  &c.,  &c.,  was  also  buried  in  this  ceme- 
tery. He  departed  July  BO,  1831,  aged  seventy-four 
years,  four  months,  and  five  days.  With  tliese  and 
crowds  of  others,  slumber  the  remains  of  the  Rev. 
James  Y.  C.  Romeyn,  who  left  the  church  for  his  re- 
wards on  high,  June  27th,  1840,  in  his  seventy-fifth 
year,  and  fifty-third  of  his  ministry,  after  serving  the 
congregations  of  Hackensack  and  Schraalenbergh  thirty- 
five  years.  "The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed,"  and 
"  their  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment." 

The  reader  must  remember  that  the  congregation  at 
Schraalenbergh  had  become  a  distinct  church  since  its 
connection  was  dissolved  Avith  Dominie  Romeyn,  in 
April,  1833.  We  record  the  names  of  their  pastors  for 
some  following  yeai-s  : — the  Rev.  John  Garretson,  1833  ; 


352  ExiKLIEST   CUUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Michael  Osborne,  of  Virginia,  1837 ;  Cornelius  J.  Blau- 
velt,  1842. 

As  early  as  tlie  year  1768,  we  lind  an  account  of  a 
churcli  formation  at  "  English  Neighborhood,"  a  thickly 
settled  vicinity  of  Hackensack.  A  Mr.  Thomas  Moore 
conveyed  to  trustees  an  acre  of  land  for  the  erection  of  a 
church  "agreeable  to  the  constitution  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Cliurch  of  Holland,  established  by  the  National 
Synod  of  Dort."  In  the  conveyance  he  also  required 
its  trustees  to  "keep  out  of  the  debate  that  is  now  be- 
tween Coetus  and  ConferentisD  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  and 
we  will  endeavor  to  live  in  Christian  peace  with  both 
parties,  as  we  have  agreed  from  the  iirst,  on  purpose 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  English  Neighborhood, 
and  members  of  the  said  churcli,  may  live  in  peace  and 
love  among  themselves  and  others.  For  a  divided  house 
must  fall,  but  a  well-united  house  or  church  shall  stand." 
The  trustees  were  Abraham  Montany,  Stephen  Bour- 
dette,  John  Day,  Michael  Moore,  Thomas  Moore,  John 
Moore  (1768).  This  was  the  period  when  the  Coitus 
and  Conferentise  difference  became  most  excited.  The 
infant  church  here  felt  the  want  of  a  proper  spiritual 
guide,  and  soon  obtained  such  a  one. 

This  was  Mr.  Garrit  Lydekker,  licensed  to  2)reach  the 
Gospel  in  1765,  and  the  church  at  English  Neighbor- 
hood was  finished  in  1768  ;  no  other  record  lias  been 
found  of  him.  In  the  year  1792,  this  congregation, 
uniting  with  that  at  Bergen,  called  John  Cornelison, 
and  during  May,  1793,  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
jiastor  of  the  two  churches.  He  occasionally  preached 
in  the  Dutch  language,  and  during  the  firet  year  of  his 


EAELIEST   CHFECHES   IN   NEW   TOEK.  353 

ministry,  a  plan  was  adopted  to  erect  a  new  tabernacle, 
forty-five  feet  by  forty-two.  As  a  gratuity,  the  people 
furnished  the  stone  and  timber,  and  the  "managers"  of 
the  work  were  Cornelius  Yreeland,  Garret  Banta,  John 
Williams,  John  Day,  Rynear  Earles,  and  Samuel  Edsall, 
' '  with  full  power  to  do  the  whole  work. ' '  The  subscrip- 
tions reached  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds 
five  shillings,  and  the  highest,  Abraham  Montanye's, 
twenty-five  pounds  ;  and  the  year  1794  witnessed  the 
completion  of  the  new  t(^mple. 

During  thirteen  years,  until  1806,  Mr.  Cornelison  dili- 
gently cultivated  this  field  of  Christian  work,  extending 
from  the  Bergen  Point  to  within  four  miles  of  Hacken- 
sack.  The  former  place  now  able  to  support  a  minister 
alone,  he  relinquished  the  pastoral  care  of  the  English 
Neighborhood.  About  three  years  afterwards,  tlie  Rev. 
Henry  Polhemus  took  sole  charge  of  the  congregation,  at 
a  salary  of  "  three  hundred  dollars  in  money,  together 
with  a  supply  of  liay,  firewood,  and  grain  ;"  and  on  De- 
cember 29th,  1809,  this  church  became  incorporated 
according  to  law.  Here,  this  servant  of  Christ  preached 
the  Word  until  the  year  1813,  and  then  removed  his 
labors  to  Shawangunk,  New  York.  There,  during 
1815,  in  that  old  region  of  the  earliest  Huguenot  pious 
settlers,  he  ended  his  earthly  ministry.  He  was  a  native 
of  Somerset,  New  York,  and  pursued  his  theological 
studies  with  Dr.  Dirck  Romeyn. 

The  Rev.  Cornelius  F.  Demarest,  in  1813,  succeeded 

him  at  English  Neighborhood,  and  his  labors  were  soon 

blessed.    When  Dr.  Frseligh,  however,  seceded,  in  1822, 

some  here  sympatliized  with  him,  and  especially  the  new 

23 


354  EARLIEST  CHUKCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

pastor,  and  the  spirit  of  discontent  increased  until  1824, 
when  the  Consistory  resolved  that  their  connection  with 
the  Classis  of  Bergen  and  the  General  Synod  was  dis- 
solved. The  congregation  immediately  united  with 
the  "True  Reformed  Church."  Charges  Avere  now  pre- 
ferred against  Mr.  Demarest  by  his  old  Classis,  and  he, 
when  cited  to  appear,  replied,  as  Dr.  Frailigh  had  when 
summoned,  "that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to 
come."  He  was  consequently  suspended  from  his  offi- 
cial relations  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  On  the 
contrary,  a  complaint  was  then  made  by  sixty-two  mem- 
bers of  his  congregation  against  the  old  Consistory,  elders, 
and  deacons,  and  a  contest  followed  about  the  vexed 
rights  of  church  ^H-operty.  Both  parties  claiming  the 
ownership,  a  law  case  of  vital  importance  to  the  old 
Dutch  churches  in  New  York  and  New  Jersej^,  Avas  tried 
before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  latter  State.  The  bench 
consisted  of  Chief'Justice  Ewing,  with  the  associate 
Judges,  Ford  and  Drake,  Avhose  opinions  Avere  elaborate ; 
and  it  is  only  necessary  to  say,  that  judgment  was  de- 
clai'ed  in  favor  of  the  phiintiffs,  and  adverse  to  the  seces- 
sion, February,  1831. 

In  Hackensack  and  English  Neighborhood,  the  seces- 
sion then  erected  churches  for  themseh^es.  The  Rev. 
Grustavus  Abeel  folloAved  Mr.  Demarest,  in  1825,  as  pas- 
tor of  the  English  Neighborhood  churcli,  and  altliougli 
the  laAV^suit  did  not  improve  the  spiritual  state  of  the 
people,  still,  tlK^  Lord  blessed  his  ministry  among  them. 
They  generously  aided  the  establishment  of  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  by  a  subscription  of  nearly  six  Imn- 
dred  dollars. 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IJS"   NEW   YOilK.  355 

During  1828,  Mr.  Abeel  removed  to  the  congregation 
at  Second  River,  now  Belleville ;  and  Rev.  Peter  Dur- 
yee,  from  Saratoga,  succeeded  liim.  Increasing  infirmi- 
ties induced  Dr.  Duryee  to  request  another  minister  in 
1847,  and  after  twenty  years'  pleasant,  successful  minis- 
try, his  pastoral  connection  with  this  congregation  dis- 
solved. He  was  an  honored  servant  of  his  Master,  and 
under  his  ministry  here,  one  hundred  and  twelve 
members  were  added  to  his  tlock.  In  1834  he  received 
the  honor  of  D.  D.  from  the  Rutgers  College.  Removing 
to  Morristown  soon  after  his  resignation,  Dr.  Duryee, 
on  February  24th,  1850,  received  his  crown  of  glory, 
aged  seventy-five  years.  A  beautiful  white  marble 
tablet  has  been  placed  to  his  pious  memory  in  the  Eng- 
lish ISTeighborhood  church,  where  he  long  preached 
Jesus  and  the  Resurrection. 

THIS   TABLET 
IS   ERECTED   TO   THE   MEMORY   OP 

THE   REV.   PHILIP  DURYEE,  D.  D., 

WHO,    NEARLY  TWENTY   YEARS,    MINISTERED  TO   THIS   CONGREGATION 

IN   HOLY   THINGS. 

THIS   FAITHFUL   PASTOR   AND    EXEMPLARY   CHRISTIAN 

WENT   TO    HIS   REWARD, 

February  24th,  1S50, 

Aged  seventy-live  years. 

May  the  memory  of  his  virtues  long  live  in  our  hearts. 

In  1849,  the  Rev.  James  McFarlaue  Avas  installed 
pastor  of  this  congregation,  and,  during  1855,  the  Rev. 
Andrew  B.  Taylor  followed  him. 


356  ILIRLIEST   CIIURCnES   IN   :N^EW   YORK. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

REFORMED    DUTCH    CHURCH   AT  SECOND    RIVER  (bELLEVILLe),  THE    LAST 

of  the  five    earliest   churches   erected  (1725) mr.  coens, 

pastor mr.    arent    schuyler,    a    liberal    christian isaac 

brown,  an  episcopalian  clergyman,  claims  his  benefactions 

mr.    iiaughoort,    the    dominie his     successors church 

incorporated  (l790)  and   school-house   erected preaching 

in  dutch  discontinued tornado  demolishes  the   steeple 

new   church rev.    mr.    stryker dominies stephen    van 

cortland his   liberality new    church    (1853) john  van 

Rensselaer's  liberal  proposition — ministers — colonies  from 
belleville    congregation ministerial    families schoonma- 

KER,    STRYKER,    AND     ROMEYN. 

We  now  come  to  tlie  Reformed  Diitcli  cliurcli  at  Sec- 
ond River  (Belleville,  New  Jersey),  the  last  of  tlie  live 
old  chnrclies  we  are  describing  in  this  region  —  Bergen, 
Hackensack,  Schraalenlbergh,  and  Second  River,  Pre- 
cisely when  this  last  chnrcli  was  organized  has  not  been 
ascertained  ;  in  the  year  1725,  however,  the  present 
churcli  fronting  the  Passaic  was  erected.  It  was  a 
square  stone  building,  with  the  belfry  upon  the  centre 
of  th(5  roof.  Subsequently  the  belfry  was  removed,  and 
a  stone  tower  added  on  its  north  end. 

In  1726,  the  Rev.  Heuricus  Coens  became  its  j)astor, 
and  during  his  ministry  rates  were  fixed  for  the  inter- 
ment of  the  dead.  For  a  married  person,  eighteen 
shillings ;  unmarried,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
twenty-live  years,  ten  shillings  ;  and  under  twelve,  five 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOPwK.  357 

sliillings.  His  ministry  continued  until  tlie  year  1730, 
when  the  Rev.  Cornelius  Van  Santfoord  became  his 
successor,  continuing  till  1732. 

An  early  emigrant  from  Holland  to  this  region  was 
Mr.  Arent  Schujder.  Industrious  and  prosj)erous  in  his 
business,  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  east- 
ern bank  of  the  Passaic  River,  where  a  valuable  copper- 
mine  was  discovered,  which  enriched  his  family.  God 
mercifully  gave  them  liberal  hearts.  Mr.  Schuyler,  his 
widow,  and  children,  donated  the  liberal  sum  of  eight 
liundred  and  fifty  pounds  to  be  invested  for  the  support 
of  a  i^astor.  There  was  some  misunderstanding  and 
trouble  as  to  the  clergyman,  or  rather  denomination, 
which  should  use  these  funds.  For  a  while  an  Epis- 
copal minister,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Isaac  Brown,  from 
Newark,  ofiiciated  at  Belleville.  His  friends  claiming 
these  funds,  Mr.  Haughoort  kept  possession  of  the 
Dutcli  church  pulpit  for  some  time,  until  locked  out, 
when  he  performed  his  religious  services  ' '  standing  on 
the  steps  at  his  church  door."  In  1770,  these  difficulties 
formally  adjusted,  Mr.  Haughoort' s  services  continued 
until  1776.  He  Avas  buried  within  the  walls  of  the  old 
church,  and  in  front  of  its  pulpit.  From  1778  to  '79  this 
congregation  had  no  pastor,  the  American  Revolution 
interfering,  when  the  "  voorleeser,"  or  clerk,  conducted 
public  worship.  Mr.  Matthew  Leydt  was  the  next  pas- 
tor, 1779,  and  succeeded  by  tlie  Rev.  Henricus  Schoon- 
maker,  who  for  eight  or  ten  years  supplied  the  pulpits 
of  Belleville  and  Acquackanonck  alternately.  In  the 
year  1790,  the  latter  church  became  incorporated  as  the 
"  Reformed  Dutch  Churcli  of  Second  River,"  and  the 


3i")8  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   i:^   ISTEAV   YOPwK. 

Consistory  two  years  afterwards  erected  a  school-house, 
thus  carrying  out  the  well-known  union  of  the  Church 
and  School,  so  characteristic  of  the  Hollanders  and 
their  descendants.  During  1794,  the  Rev.  Peter  Stry- 
ker,  of  Staten  Island,  became  the  pastor  of  this  church, 
and  preaching  in  Dutch  ceased,  the  new  dominie  only 
"using  that  language  when  especially  requested  by  the 
congregation.  In  the  month  of  May,  1804,  a  violent 
tornado  demolished  the  steeple  of  this  cliurch,  which 
was  rebuilt,  however,  during  the  next  month.  A  new 
church  had  been  erected  at  Stone  House  Plains,  to  which 
Mr.  Stryker  devoted  one-third  of  his  time,  and  in  1807  a 
new  stone  edifice  took  the  place  of  the  old  one.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1809,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stryker  removed  to  Amboy, 
New  Jersey,  but  was  recalled  the  next  year,  and  re- 
signed his  charge  in  1812.  During  1814,  the  Rev. 
Staats  Van  Santvoort  became  pastor,  preaching  here 
until  June,  1828.  The  Rev.  Gustavus  Abeel  succeeded 
Mm,  and,  in  1834,  he  settled  at  Geneva,  New  York. 
Next,  the  Rev.  H.  Meyers  served  this  congregation, 
whose  pastorate  continued  only  two  years,  and  then 
came  the  Rev.  John  Garretson,  of  Brooklyn  ;  and  during 
his  ministration  the  venerable  Stephen  Van  Cortland, 
Esq. ,  so  long  a  most  liberal  supporter  of  this  church,  left 
the  world  for  his  heavenly  treasures.  His  name  was 
precious  in  this  congregation.  He  bequeathed  one  thou- 
sand dollars  to  it ;  and  in  1842  a  bequest  for  the  same 
sum  was  left  by  his  widow.  For  many  years  they 
came  to  the  house  of  God  together.  Their  holy  exam- 
ple and  pious  works  have  left  a  blessed  influence. 

In  1849,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gan-etson  r;HMnv(>d  the  appoint- 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW  TORK.  359 

nieiit  of  corresponding  secretary  to  tlie  Board  of  Domes- 
tic Missions,  from  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church.  The  Rev.  Isaac  S.  Demund  succeeded 
him  ;  and  during  1853,  a  new  church  was  erected.  It  is 
a  beautiful  Gothic  edifice,  and  cost  some  sixteen  thousand 
dollars ;  two  thousand  dollars  were  found  necessary  to 
pay  its  extra  cost,  when  John  Van  Rensselaer,  Esq.,  in 
addition  to  his  original  subscription,  proposed  to  give 
one  thousand  more  if  the  congregation  would  supply  the 
balance.  The  liberal  offer  was  immediately  met,  and  the 
holy  tabernacle  entirely  paid  for,  as  all  houses  of  the 
Lord  should  be. 

Mr.  Demund  remained,  faithfully  preaching  among 
this  people,  until,  having  accepted  a  call  from  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania,  he  resigned  the  charge  in  1856.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  De  Witt  Talmage  was  installed  pastor  in  1856. 

The  Reformed  Dutcli  church  at  Belleville  has  been 
eminently  blessed  herself,  and  a  blessing  to  others.  Her 
pious  sons  and  daughters  constituted,  in  1801,  the  con- 
gregation of  Stone  House  Plains — the  First  Refonned 
Dutcli  Churcli  at  Newark,  1833— and  in  1855,  the  church 
at  Franklin. 

Many  of  the  "Fathers"  repose  in  the  consecrated 
grounds  of  this  sanctuary,  honored  names — Joralemon, 
Vreeland,  Cadmus,  Spens,  Kidney,  Jacobus,  Winne, 
King,  Coeymans,  Brown,  Wauters  ;  and  later,  the  Horn- 
blowers,  Rutgers,  Van  Cortlandts,  &c. ;  and  they  rest 
from  their  labors,  having  served  their  day  and  genera- 
tion ;  and  verily  their  Avorks  do  follow  them  ! 

The  historical  events  recorded  in  our  volume  concern- 
ing: the   earliest  Reformed  Dutch   churches  and  their 


360  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

ministers,  of  New  Jersey,  prove  liow  carefully  tliey 
were  Avatclied  and  served  by  faithful  and  able  ministers 
of  the  Gospel.  Their  pastors  then  and  since  liave  been 
men  of  usefulness,  learning,  and  piety.  Their  memory 
is  precious,  and  their  descendants  may  well  cherish 
and  honor  their  names ;  and  it  is  a  most  striking  and 
remarkable  fact,  that  many  of  the  descendants  of  these 
earliest  preachers'  children  and  children' s  children;  for 
several  generations,  have  proclaimed  the  everlasting 
Gospel  of  the  world's  Redeemer.  Take,  for  example, 
Henry  Schoonmaker,  the  father,  and  we  find  his  son, 
Jacob  Schoonmaker,  D.  D.,  and  his  grandson,  the  Rev. 
Richard  L.  Schoonmaker;  Peter  Strjdver,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
Herman  B.  Stryker,  his  son,  and  Rev.  Peter  Stryker, 
grandson,  all  in  the  ministry.  Among  the  well-known 
Romeyns  the  descent  is  still  more  remarkable :  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Romeyn,  father ;  his  sons,  the  Revs. Theodore  F., 
James  V.  C,  and  Thomas  Romeyn;  his  grandson,  the 
Rev.  James  Romeyn,  and  his  great-grandsons,  Theodore 
B.  Romeyn,  William  J.  R.  Taylor,  James  Romeyn 
Berry,  and  Francis  N.  Zabriskie. 


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EARLIEST   CIITJRCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK.  {]Ql. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

KALEIGH    NAMES    THE     WHOLE     REGION    B'ROM     VIRGINIA    TO    MAINE    A3 

VIRGINIA NEW    JERSEY    ATTACHED    TO    NEW    YORK,    AND    BY    ROYAL 

PATENT  CONVEYED     TO    LORD     BERKELEY TWO  HUNDRED    ACRES    OF 

LAND   GRANTED  IN  EVERY    PARISH    FOR    THE    SUPPORT  OF  THE    MINIS- 
TRY  GOVERNOR  CARTERET   (1665)   ARRIVES,  WITH  THIRTY    ENGLISH 

SETTLERS EMIGRANTS     FROM     NEW     ENGLAND    AND    LONG    ISLAND 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  FIRST  ORGANIZED  (1666-7) CHURCH  BURNED 

BY  A  "refugee" ANOTHER  ERECTED JOHN  HARRIMAN,  PASTOR 

COLONIAL     TROUBLES GOVERNOR     ANDROS     OF     NEW     YORK THE 

"'FIVE    proprietors" DEATH    OF    CHARLES  II.,  AND   ACCESSION    OF 

JAMES  II.  —  INTERNAL  DISSENSIONS QUEEN  ANNE    UNITES    EAST   AND 

WEST  JERSEY HIGH  CHURCHISM BOOK  OF    COMMON  PRAYER  TO  BE 

READ GOVERNOR  CORNBURY,  A  PROFLIGATE,  DEPOSED PERSECUTED 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  MINISTERS  IN  NEW  JERSEY MINISTERS REV.  J. 

DICKINSON HIS     PUBLISHED     WORKS WHITEFIELD      PREACHES     IN 

ELIZABETHTOWN SMALL    SALARIES MESSRS.  KETTLETAS  AND  CALD- 
WELL  REV.  MR.    LINN — SYNODS — A  COLLEGE  AT  ELIZABETHTOWN 

REMOVED     TO     NEWARK REV.    AARON     BURR,    PRESIDENT NEXT    TO 

PRINCETON MR.  DICKINSOn's  DEATH HIS  USEFUL  LIFE FAMILY 

JOHN  SARGEANT,   OF    PHILADELPHIA. 

DuimsTG  the  year  1584,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  obtained 
for  himself  and  heirs  a  patent  from  Queen  Elizabeth,  to 
possess  forever  any  lands  he  might  find,  not  already 
discovered  by  a  Christian  Prince,  nor  inhabited  with  a 
Christian  people.  Under  this  royal  authority.  Sir  Walter 
settled  a  colony  in  Carolina,  and  in  honor  of  his  illus- 
trious patron,  the  Virgin  Queen,  he  gave  the  name  of 


362  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK. 

Virginia  to  the  whole  region  now  extending  from  Maine 
to  Virginia. 

James  I.,  without  any  regard  to  the  rights  of  Sir 
Walter,  granted  a  new  patent  of  Virginia  to  two  com- 
panies, the  London  and  Plymouth,  hut  they  met  with 
little  success  in  their  attempts  to  colonize  it. 

To  this  period.  New  Jersey  was  a  part  of  Virginia, 
but  subsequently  became  attached  to  the  New  York 
province,  which  region,  in  1664,  extended  "south  to 
Maryland,  east  to  New  England,  northward  to  the  river 
of  Canada,  and  westward  as  far  as  land  could  be  dis- 
covered." From  the  discovery  of  Cabot,  the  British 
claimed  the  title  to  the  whole  country  from  Maine  to 
Florida ;  but  the  Dutch  gaining  possession  of  what  is 
now  called  Ncav  York,  tliey  claimed  the  region,  in  virtue 
of  the  discovery  made  in  the  year  1609,  by  the  navi- 
gator Henry  Hudson,  who,  in  the  employ  of  the  Hol- 
land East  India  Company,  was  searching  a  northwest 
passage  to  China.  This  gave  offence  to  Charles  II.,  now 
on  the  British  throne,  and,  to  dispossess  the  Dutch,  he 
gave  a  patent  to  the  Duke  of  York,  his  royal  lu'other, 
for  a  large  portion  of  the  whole  new  countr}^,  which  in- 
cluded New  York  and  New  Jersey.  To  place  the  Duke 
in  possession,  Sir  Robert  Carr  was  dispatched  with  a 
small  fleet,  and  the  Dutch  settlers  ignorant  of  his  object 
and  unprepared  for  defence,  the  English  commander 
quietly  took  possession  of  New  Amsterdam  in  th(.^  year 
1664. 

The  Duke  of  York,  thus  possessor  of  the  soil  patented 
by  the  Crown,  granted  and  conveyed  to  Lord  Berkeley 
and  Sir  George  Carteret  the  tract  of  land  between  the 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  363 

Hudson  and  the  Delaware  Rivers,  and  from  tlie  ocean  to 
the  present  northern  line  of  New  Jersey,  for  a  yearly 
rent  of  "twenty  nobles,  lawful  money  of  England,  to 
be  paid  in  the  Inner  Temple,  London,  at  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  the  Archangel."  This  region  was  at  first  named 
New  Canary,  but  afterwards  changed  to  New  Jersey, 
in  honor  of  Carteret,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and 
who  defended  that  place  with  great  bravery  against  the 
Long  Parliament,  during  the  civil  wars. 

Berkeley  and  Carteret,  the  proi3rietors,  now  invited 
immigrants  into  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  publishing 
a  constitution,  which  contained  many  valuable  pro- 
visions. It  carefully  guarded  the  civil  and  religious 
rights  of  the  people,  as  that  under  which  the  citizens  of 
New  Jersey  now  live.  While  the  prelates  of  Virginia, 
with  the  Puritans  of  Connecticut,  had  each  their  objec- 
tionable and  absurd  "Blue  Laws,"  the  organic  con- 
stitution of  New  Jersey  provided  that  ' '  No  person  shall 
be  molested  or  questioned  for  any  difference  of  opinion 
or  practice  in  matters  of  religious  concernment."  To 
every  parish  was  granted  two  hundred  acres  of  land, 
for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and  secured  to  the  peo- 
ple the  right  to  select  their  own  ministers. 

Under  this  liberal  charter,  Philip  Carteret,  the  brother 
of  Sir  Greorge,  came  to  New  Jersey,  as  Governor  of  the 
province.  He  reached  Elizabethtown  in  August,  1665, 
with  thirty  English  settlers,  the  place  then  containing 
only  four  houses,  and  naming  it  Elizabethtown,  in 
honor  of  his  brothers  wife.  Lady  Elizabeth  Carteret. 
Settlers  soon  came  in  considerable  numbers  from  New 
England  and  Long  Island.     Puritans,  English  Quakers, 


364  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

and  Scotch  Presbyterians  Avere  the  principal  immigrants 
to  tliis  section  of  New  Jersey,  and  formed  its  moral 
character. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  was  the  first  organized  for 
the  worship  of  the  Almighty  in  the  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey,^ and  coeval  with  Elizabethtown,  about  166G-7.  Its 
house  of  worship  was  a  wooden  building,  with  high 
steeple  and  town  cloclv.  It  was  enlarged  twenty  feet  in 
the  rear,  and  the  pulpit  ornamented  by  the  ladies  with 
an  elegant  set  of  curtains,  at  a  cost  of  twenty-seven 
pounds.  This  venerable  temple,  the  earliest  erected  in 
the  province,  continued  to  be  used  for  its  sacred  pur- 
poses for  almost  half  a  century,  when  it  was  fired  by  the 
torch  of  a  "refugee,"  in  January,  1780;  but,  Phcenix- 
like,  another  structure  arose  from  its  ashes.  It  is  not 
known  who  ministered  here  during  the  first  twenty 
years'  existence  of  this  churcli,  and  the  earliest  pastor 
of  whom  we  find  any  record  was  the  Rev.  John  Harri- 
man,  who  graduated  at  Cambridge  in  1667.  He  died  in 
1704 ;  and  his  ashes  rest  beneath  the  present  church 
edifice  at  Elizabethtown.  A  house  on  Meadow  street, 
which  he  erected,  has  been  in  the  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants to  the  sixth  generation. 

He  was  distinguished  for  much  practical  wisdom,  of 
wliicli  virtue  he  had  great  need,  as  his  ministry  con- 
tinued through  a  period  of  unliappy  confusion  in  the 
civil  affairs  of  the  province.  Governor  Carteret,  dej)osed 
by  the  Assembly,  had  returned  to  England,  and  James 
Berry,  his  deputy,  was  in  daily  conflict  with  James 
Carteret  and  the  Governor's  associates.      Andros,  at 

*  Dr.  Murray. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES  IN  NEW   YORK.  365 

this  time,  was  tlie  profligate  Governor  of  'New  York, 
and   assumed  also  the  authority   of  the   N'ew  Jersey 
province.     In  1680,  he  demanded  the  submission  of  the 
inhabitants,   in  the  name  of  his  master,  the  Dulve  of 
York  ;  and  which  refused,  he  threatened  invasion.     The 
people  were  on  the  brink  of  a  civil  war.     To  increase 
the  troubles  of  Mr.    Harriman,    the  province  became 
divided,  Berkeley  selling  his  right  to  one-half  of  it,  for 
one  thousand  pounds,  to  a  Mr.  John  Fenwick ;  he  dis- 
poses of  it  again  to  four  Quakers,  Billinge,  Penn,  Lawry, 
and  Lucas,  thus  making,  with  Carteret,  five  "proprie- 
tors,"  by  what  is   styled  the   "  Quinpartite  Deed"   of 
July  1,  1676.     These  divided  the  province  into  East  and 
West  Jersey,  George  Carteret  retaining  the  East.     In 
1679  he  died,  leaving  this  section  to  be  sold  for  the 
payment  of  his  debts,  and  it  was  purchased,  in  1682,  by 
twelve  Quakers,  with  William  Penn  at  their  head.     To 
allay  the  jealousies  of  the  people,  they  united  with  them 
twelve  others  as  partners,  among  whom  Avas  the  Earl  of 
Perth,  after  whose  name  the  point  of  land  called  by  the 
Indians  "Ambo"  was  named  "Perth  Amboy." 

King  Charles  II.  died  in  1684,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  as  James  II.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  royal  monarch,  as  James  the  King,  had  the 
least  possible  regard  for  the  contracts  of  James  the 
Duke  ;  for  he  immediately  formed  the  plan  to  annul  all 
the  deeds  and  charters  of  these  American  colonies. 
Pretended  complaints  were  entered  against  the  people 
of  the  "Jersies,"  and '' Quo  loarranto''  immediately 
issued.  Vainly  did  the  "proprietors"  remonstrate 
against  this  injustice  ;  for  they  reasoned  with  a  king, 


366  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN"   NEW   YORK. 

who  was  a  Stuart,  the  most  faithless  and  imperious  royal 
race  that  ever  ascended  the  English  throne.  Well  for 
our  world  that  this  usurping  and  faithless  race  has  died 
out !  Thus  oppressed  and  embarrassed  by  the  royal 
power,  controversies  and  internal  dissensions  spread 
among  the  people,  until  at  last  the  proprietors  of  East 
and  AVest  Jersey  surrendered  their  gubernatorial  to  the 
Crown.  This  was  made  to  Queen  Anne,  in  1702,  when 
she  inunediately  united  East  and  West  Jersey,  sending 
out  her  kinsman,  Lord  Cornbury,  as  Governor.  All 
these  public  disturbances  took  place  during  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Harriman  in  ElizabethtoAvn,  and  the  earliest 
Presbyterian  church  there  experienced  peculiar,  and 
severe  trials. 

In  the  year  1782,  the  government  of  the  proprietors 
ceased  in  the  New  Jersey  province,  and  that  of  the 
Crown,  now  -worn  by  the  last  of  the  Stuarts,  commenced. 
He  was  a  high-church  tyrant,  curtailing  religious  liberty, 
and  commanded  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  to  be  read 
on  Sundays  and  holida3^s,  tlie  Sacrament  to  be  adminis- 
tered after  the  Episcopal  form,  and  all  ministers  not 
Episcoi^ally  ordained  should  be  reported  to  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  London  !  The  bigot  also  interfered  with  the 
liberty  of  the  press,  as  no  book,  pamj)hlet,  or  paper 
could  be  printed  without  the  Governor's  license.  With 
this  improved  Constitution,  Governor  Cornbury  reached 
New  Jersey  in  the  month  of  August,  1703,  and  the 
province  very  soon  felt  wliat  it  was  to  be  governed  by 
a  tyrant' s  hireling.  The  Assemblies  convened  by  hira 
had  th(^  independence  to  oppose  this  profligate,  and  his 
official  race  was  a  short  one,  for  in  1709  he  was  deprived 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  367 

of  Ms  commission,  and  afterwards  imprisoned  in  New 
York  for  debts.     Here  he  lay  until  lie  luckily  became  a 
Peer,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  Avhen  he  returned  to 
England,  and  died  in  1723.     The  Presbyterians  do  not 
venerate  his  memory,  as  he  was  the  persecutor  of  their 
preachers,  and  confiscated  their  church  property ;  and 
from  all  such  rulers,  in  the  good  old  language  of  the 
Church  of  England,  we  say,  "  Good  Lord,  deliver  us  !" 
In  1704,  Mr.  Ilarriman  finished  his  earthly  toils  and 
cares,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Kev.  Mr.  Melyne, 
whose  ministry  continued  only  a  short  time.     Tradition 
says  that  he  was  strongly  suspected  of  intemperance. 
On  a  certain  Sabbath  morning,  the  choir  of  the  church 
suhg  a  hymn,  as  a  voluntary,  which  he  imagined  was 
designed  to  expose  and  reprove  him.     Whilst  singing, 
he  left  the  pulpit,  walking  out  of  the  church  with  his 
wife,  and  never  again  returned.     Whence  he  came,  and 
how  long  he  remained  here,  and  where  he  went,  are 
questions  unrecorded. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson, 
the  impress  of  whose  pious  characteT  and  labors  is 
said  to  be  still  visible  on  the  old  town  of  Elizabeth. 
He  was  a  great  and  good  man,  born  in  Hatfield,  Mass. , 
April  22,  1688,  and  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1706. 
He  settled  in  Elizabethtown,  tv/o  or  three  years  after- 
wards, at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  for  almost 
forty  remained  the  joy  and  glory  of  his  congregation. 
His  published  works,  too,  praise  him  in  Zion,  and  will 
transmit  his  name  to  posterity.  There  is  a  list  of  them 
in  Dr.  Green's  "History  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey." 
His  contemporaries  were  Whitefield,  Edwards,  Brainerd, 


368  EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

and  the  Tennents,  and  his  ministiy  shared  largely  in  the 
remarkable  revivals  with  which  Grod  favored  the  labors 
of  these  eminent  men.  During  Whitefield'  s  second  visit 
to  America,  in  1740,  whilst  passing  through  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  after  a  short  notice,  he  preached  to  a  large 
audience  of  seven  hundred  people.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  he  made  a  liberal  collection,  it  is  said,  for  his 
orphan  asylum  in  Georgia. 

Mr.  Dickinson's  parish,  then  a  large  and  laborious 
one,  embraced  Railway,  Westfield,  Connecticut  Farms, 
Springfield,  with  a  part  of  Chatham.  Then  the  people 
of  Westfield  would  walk  here  to  worship  God,  and  not 
deterred  either  by  bad  roads  or  weather.  The  Gospel 
was,  indeed,  precious  to  them.  About  1730,  however, 
a  church  was  organized  in  Westfield,  a  log  hut  the  first 
place  of  worship,  and  the  beating  of  an  old  drum  the 
call  to  the  public  services.  The  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hub- 
bell  was  its  first  pastor. 

At  this  early  period  small  salaries  were  paid  to  min- 
isters in  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  and,  probably, 
from  the  cheapness  of  living.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kettletas 
received  only  two  pounds  ten  shillings  per  Sabbath ; 
Mr.  Caldwell,  three  j)onnds  one  shilling  and  sixpence. 
But  in  1776,  his  salary  was  raised  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty  pounds,  and  he  was  j)aid  by  the  week  punctually 
every  Monday  morning.  Mr.  Linn  was  settled  with  a 
salary  of  three  hundred  pounds,  York  currency,  and  a 
parsonage  and  lands.  Nor  were  the  public  officers  paid 
any  better.  In  East  Jersey,  the  governor  received  a  salary 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds ;  in  West,  two  hun- 
dred pounds  ;  and  at  one  period  tliiy  were  j^aid  in  peas. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


369 


com,  and  tobacco,  at  fixed  prices.  Venison  and  beef 
sold  at  a  penny  per  pound  ;  corn,  two  sliillings  sixpence 
a  bushel ;  bailey,  two  shillings  ;  and  other  things  pro- 
portionably  cheap. 

At  that  period  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  represented 
the  entire  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  American  Prov- 
inces ;   but,   during  the  year  1741,  this  body  divided 
into  two  parts— the  Synods  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia—IS^ew  Jersey  uniting  with  the  former.     The 
Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Jersey  was  then  much 
stronger  than  in  New  York,  and  it  was  determined  to 
establish  a  college  at  Elizabethtown.     A  charter  was 
obtained,  and  Mr.  Dickinson  chosen  its  first  president. 
With  an  usher  he  was  its  only  teacher,  and  the  students 
numbered  about  twenty,  boarding  with  the  town  fam- 
ilies.    The  institution  stood  where  the  lecture-room  of 
the  old  Presbyterian  church  now  stands,  and  was  burn- 
ed down  during  the  Revolutionary  War.      Then  the 
students  removed  to  Newark,  and  received  their  instruc- 
tion from  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr,  the  second  president  of 
the  college.     Although  Mr.  Dickinson  may  be  called 
the  father  of  the  institution,  he  acted  as  its  president 
only  one  year,  as  he  finished  his  many  earthly  toils, 
October  7,  1747.     When  the  classes  had  reached  seventy 
members,  they  removed  to  Princeton,  where  the  first 
college  edifice  was  erected,  and  called  "  Nassau  Hall," 
in  honor  of  William  III.  of  England,  Prince  of  Orange 
and  Nassau,  and  the  glorious  defender  of  Protestant 
liberty. 

Not  very  full  of  years,  but  full  of  usefulness  and  hon- 
ors, Mr.  Dickinson  ended  his  days,  aged  sixty.     What 
24 


370  EARLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

an  indastrious  life  tlie  good  man  must  have  passed  !  In 
addition  to  liis  numerous  duties  of  pastor,  teacher,  and 
farmer,  he  was  a  respectable  practising  physician.  It  is 
stated  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vaughan,  Rector  of  the  Chnrcli 
of  England,  came  to  Elizabethtown  on  the  same  day 
with  Mr.  Dickinson.  Here  they  labored  together  forty 
years,  and  both  were  laid  in  their  silent  coffins  on  the 
same  day,  the  former  completing  his  holy  mission  on 
the  earth  only  a  few  hours  before  the  latter.  Both  en- 
tered the  heavenly  land  together  ! 

Mr.  Dickinson  left  three  daughters,  one  marrying  Mr. 
Sargeant,  of  Princeton,  from  whom  descended  the  Hon- 
orable John  Sargeant,  of  Philadelphia.  Another  be- 
came the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Caleb  Smith,  a  minister  in 
the  Newark  mountains,  now  Orange,  of  whom  the 
Greens,  eminent  in  the  New  Jersey  Bar,  are  descendants. 
The  remains  of  Mr.  Dickinson  were  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  town  where  he  so  long  faithfully  preached 
Christ,  and  hallowed  be  tliat  spot  of  their  silent  repose  ! 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  371 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

PRESBYTERIAN      CHURCH,      ELIZABETHTOWN ELISIIA       SPENCER,      D.  D., 

SUCCEEDS       MR.      DICKINSON — CHURCH      INCORPORATED GOVERNOR 

BELCHER    JOINS    THIS     CONGREGATION REV.     MR.     KETTLETAS     OFFI- 
CIATED IN  THREE  LANGUAGES REV.  JAMES  CALDWELL,  A  HUGUENOT 

HIS    FAMILY BECOMES     A     CHAPLAIN OBNOXIOUS    TO     THE     "TO- 
RIES"  HIS    PARSONAGE     AND    CHURCH     BURNED     (l78l) HIS    WIFE 

MURDERED,  AND  HIS  TRAGICAL    DEATH EMINENT    MEN    IN    HIS    CON- 
GREGATION  OGDEN,  BOUDINOT,  LIVINGSTON,   AND  DAYTON SKETCH 

OF  MR.  BOUDINOT NEW    CHURCH    BUILT    IN    1786,    BUT     UNFINISHED 

FOR     SEVERAL     YEARS NOTICE    OF    MR.    LIVINGSTON,   A    FRIEND     OF 

GENERAL  HAMILTON REV.  W.  LINN  INSTALLED    (iVSG). 

The  Rev.  Elislia  Spencer,  D.  D.,  succeeded  Mr.  Dick- 
inson in  the  pastoral  charge.  He  was  born  at  East  Had- 
dam,  Connecticut,  and  graduated  from  Yale  College  in 
1746.  The  next  year  he  took  charge  of  this  congrega- 
tion, diligently  performing  its  duties  until  1756,  and 
then  removing  to  Trenton.  He  died  in  the  sixty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  1784.  His  gravestone  says  that,  "pos- 
sessed of  fine  genius,  of  great  vivacity,  of  eminent  and 
active  piety,  his  merits  as  a  minister  and  man  stand 
above  the  reach  of  flattery.  Having  long  edified  the 
cliur(di  by  his  talents  and  example,  and  finished  his 
course  with  joy,  he  fell  asleep,  full  of  faith  and  waiting 
for  the  hope  of  all  saints." 

During  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Spencer,  the  First  Church 
of  Elizabethtown  obtained  its  Act  of  Incorporation.     In 


372  EARLIEST   CHUECHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

1747,  Jonathan  Belclier  became  governor  of  this  prov- 
ince, resided  here,  and  united  with  this  congregation. 
He  granted  its  cliarter  August  22,  1753,  and  the  trustees 
were  Stej)hen  Crane,  Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jonathan  Day- 
ton, Isaac  Woodruff,  Matthias  Baldwin,  Moses  Ogden, 
and  Benjamin  Winans.  They  were  authorized  to  build 
an  almshouse  for  the  poor,  and  schoolhouses  to  educate 
the  young  of  the  town. 

"  The  righteous  shall  be  held  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance," and  the  memory  of  Governor  Belcher  should 
not  be  passed  by  without  a  notice.  He  was  born  in 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1681,  graduating  from 
Harvard  College,  1699 — a  merchant,  he  acquired  reputa- 
tion and  fortune  at  Boston,  and  in  1722  went  to  England 
as  agent  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  On  the  death  of  Gover- 
nor Burnet,  the  son  of  the  eminent  bishop,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  when  Governor  Hamilton  died,  he  received 
the  same  post  and  honor  in  New  Jersey  (1747).  With 
great  moderation  and  justice,  he  governed  this  province 
for  ten  years.  To  a  commanding  person,  he  united  a 
finely  cultivated  mind,  dignity  of  manners,  firm  integ- 
rity, and  fervent  piety.  He  became  a  devoted  friend  of 
Whitefield.  He  died  of  paralysis  in  1757,  aged  seventy- 
six,  and  his  remains,  buried  some  time  at  Elizabethtown, 
were  then  removed  to  his  native  place,  Cambridge.  Dr. 
Spencer  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Abraham  Kettletas, 
and  installed  September  14,  1757,  remaining  only  three 
or  four  years.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York  city,  and 
a  graduate  at  Yale  College.  After  his  i-emoval  from 
EJizabetli  he  preached  in  the  Refonned  Dutch  church, 


EAELIEST   CHUKCIIES   IjST   NEW   YORK.  373 

Jamaica,  Long  Island.  Like  most  Presbyterian  clergy- 
men at  that  period,  lie  became  a  very  decided  Whig, 
and  was  a  political  writer  of  notoriety.  Some  of  his 
manuscript  sermons,  written  in  Dntcli  and  French,  have 
been  j^reserved.  He  finished  his  course  at  Jamaica, 
September  30,  1798,  aged  sixty-five,  where  his  ashes  are 
buried.  His  epitaph  says:  "It  may  not,  perhaps,  be 
unworthy  of  record  in  this  inscription,  that  he  fre- 
quently otficiated  in  three  difterent  languages,  having 
preached  in  the  Dutch  and  French  churches  in  his  na- 
tive city  of  New  York. 

"  Rest  from  thy  labors  now  thy  work  is  o'er ; 
Since  death  is  vanquished,  now  free  grace  adore  ; 
A  crown  of  glory  sure  awaits  the  just, 
Who  serve  their  God,  and  in  their  Saviour  trust." 

The  Rev.  James  Caldwell  next  occupied  the  Presby- 
terian pulpit  in  Elizabethtown.  He  has  a  ]Datriotic  and 
religious  history,  his  tragical  death  almost  clothing  it 
with  romantic  interest.  By  family  this  distinguished 
man  was  of  Huguenot  origin.  Driven  from  France  by 
merciless  persecution,  they  escaped  to  Scotland,  and 
during  the  reign  of  James  I.  some  of  their  number  w^ent 
to  Ireland,  settling  in  the  county  of  Antrim.  From  this 
branch  John  Caldwell  descended,  who  emigrated  to 
America,  at  first  locating  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  soon  removed  to  Charlotte,  Virginia.  Here 
James  Caldwell  was  born,  April,  1734,  the  youngest  of 
seven  children.  He  graduated  from  Princeton  College 
in  1759,  and  about  a  year  afterwards  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  soon  took  charge  of  this  then 
large  congregation  at  Elizabethtown. 


374  EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Soon  tlie  Revolutionary  struggle  began  and  he  entered 
heartily  into  the  controversy,  becoming  a  chaplain,  and 
accompanied  the  Jersey  brigade  to  the  northern  lines. 
He  ranked  liigh  in  Washington' s  confidence  and  friend- 
ship, and  his  popularity  and  influence  with  the  soldiers 
were  unbounded. 

These  patriotic  traits  rendered  him  very  obnoxious  to 
the  common  foe,  and,  for  more  safety  from  the  '"  Tories," 
he  removed  his  residence  to  Connecticut  Farms.  Such 
was  their  known  hatred  towards  him,  that  he  was  com- 
pelled, for  personal  safety,  to  lay  his  loaded  pistol  by 
his  side  in  the  pulpit.  The  vacant  parsonage  became 
the  resting-place  of  the  American  soldiers  ;  but  the 
enemy  burnt  it,  as  they  also  did  his  church,  on  the 
night  of  November  24,  1781. 

Not  satisfied  with  these  outrages,  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Caldwell,  an  accomplished  lady,  was  deliberately  mur- 
dered— shot  by  a  British  rufiian,  on  the  7th  of  June, 
1780,  while,  with  her  children,  she  was  praying  in  the 
retirement  of  her  closet  for  victory  on  her  country's 
banners.  Her  pious  husband,  the  excellent  and  pa- 
triotic pastor,  in  a  few  months  followed  her  to  the  heav- 
enly promised  land.  On  the  24th  of  November,  1781, 
he  was  also  shot  dead  by  another  murderer,  a  sentinel 
of  our  own  forces,  but  bribed  to  the  foul  deed  by  Brit- 
ish gold.     What  a  tale  of  woe  ! 

Tlius,  in  a  few  months,  the  Presbyterians  of  Elizabeth- 
town  were  deprived  of  their  church,  parsonage,  and 
academy  ;  and  their  excellent  pastor  and  his  wife  mur- 
dered in  cold  blood !  During  seven  long  years,  this 
congregation  continued  without  a  sanctuary  for  God's 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK.  375 

solemn  woi'sliip  ;  but  prayer  and  patriotism  strikingly 
united  tlieir  hearts,  amidst  all  tliese  accumulated  sorrows. 
As  a  cliurcli,  they  contributed  largely  to  the  cause  of 
liberty,  giving  a  Dayton  to  the  army,  both  father  and 
son,  with  an  Ogden  and  Spencer ;  and  as  chaplain  and 
commissary,  the  beloved  Caldwell.  Then  we  find  in  the 
State  and  National  Councils  a  Boudinot,  Clark,  Living- 
ston, Dayton,  and  Ogden.  AVhere  did  any  congregation, 
in  that  day  of  peril  and  darkness,  excel  such  patriotic 
contributions  ?  Many  of  them  were  suffering  in  the 
army  ;  many  incarcerated  in  the  horrid  sugar-house, 
ISTew  York ;  whilst  widows  and  orphans  were  to  be 
found  in  every  direction.  A  darker  day  that  community 
never  beheld;  still  but  feAV,  if  any,  Sabbaths  passed 
without  some  religious  services. 

Dr.  Elias  Boudinot  was  connected  with  this  church, 
and  ever  the  attached  and  devoted  friend  of  Mr.  Cald- 
well. Both  settled  in  Elizabeth  about  the  same  period. 
His  memory  will  long  remain  precious  to  the  friends  of 
science  and  religion,  on  account  of  his  munificent  bene- 
factions whilst  living  and  tlie  princely  legacies  of  his 
last  will.  Also  a  descendant  of  the  pious  Huguenots, 
he  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  May  2,  1740.  He  studied 
law  with  Richard  Stockton,  a  member  of  the  first  Con- 
gress, whose  eldest  sister  lie  married.  His  piety,  patriot- 
ism, and  talents  soon  phiced  liim  in  tlie  highest  rank  of 
his  profession.  Congress  appointed  him  to  the  important 
trust  of  Commissary-Geneial  of  prisonei's,  and  in  the 
year  1777,  lie  was  elected  a  member  of  that  body,  and 
made  its  president,  1782.  When  the  celebrated  Ritten- 
house  died,  Washington  appointed  Mr.  BoudisiDt  Direc- 


876  EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

tor  of  the  National  Mint.  Resigning  this  office,  he  re- 
tired to  Burlington;  and  here,  surrounded  by  kind 
friends,  he  passed  the  balance  of  his  days  in  the  exercise 
of  the  highest  Christian  duties. 

He  was  elected  the  first  President  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  and  by  a  large  donation  placed  tliis  great 
national  institution  upon  a  firm  foundation.  His  most 
liberal  bequests  went  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  its  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton.  He  wrote  a  work  on  the  origin  of  the 
American  Indians,  called  "A  Star  in  the  West,"  and  an 
able  reply  to  Tom  Paine' s  "Age  of  Reason  ;"  and  both 
bear  ample  testimony  of  his  ability,  learning,  and  piety. 
An  eminent  patriot,  philanthropist,  and  Christian,  he 
died  in  Burlington,  October  24,  1821,.  at  the  very  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-two  years. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the 
citizens  had  returned  to  their  homes,  it  was  resolved  to 
rebuild  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Dr.  Alexander  McAVhor- 
ter  dedicated  the  new  edifice  about  1786.  For  several 
years,  however,  it  remained  unfinished,  the  minister 
using  a  rough  jDlatform  for  his  pulpit,  and  the  hearers, 
planks  as  seats.  To  finish  tlie  sacred  edifice,  tlie  State 
granted  the  "Elizabeth  Town  and  New  BrunsAvick 
Church  Lottery,"  from  which  some  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars were  realized.  In  this  respect,  we  liave  certainly 
improved  on  the  wisdom  of  our  excellent  forefathers. 

William  Livingston,  LL.  D.,  was  another  eminent 
Christian  gentleman  of  Elizabethtown  at  this  period. 
Of  Scotch  descent,  he  Avas  born  at  Albany,  New  Tork, 
in  1723,  and  graduated  from  Yale  College  1741.     In 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YOKK.  377 

1748,  admitted  as  an  attorney  to  the  bar,  lie  readied 
great  professional  distinction,  soon  becoming  tlie  leading 
writer  for  popular  rights,  and  opposed  the  advocates  of 
the  then  termed  "American  E]oiscopate."  Realizing  a 
fortune  from  his  profession,  he  retired  to  Elizabeth,  in 
the  year  1772,  where  he  erected  the  "Mansion  House," 
still  bearing  his  name,  and  where  he  died.  Upon  his 
removal  to  New  Jersey,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
first  Congress,  1774,  re-elected  the  next  year,  and  in  1776 
took  command  of  the  New  Jersey  militia,  as  brigadier- 
general,  fixing  his  camp  at  Elizabethtown  Point,  with 
Elias  Boudinot  as  his  aide-de-camp.  When  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  province  deposed  Governor  Franklin,  and 
formed  a  new  constitution,  they  elected  Mr.  Livingston 
their  first  governor,  and  continued  to  confer  upon  him 
this  honor  for  fourteen  consecutive  years,  until  his  death, 
July  25,  1790.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Convention 
which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
His  remains,  interred  with  those  of  his  wife,  Avere  after- 
wards removed  to  the  vault  of  their  son,  Brockholst, 
the  judge,  in  New  York.  Governor  Livingston  was  a 
profound  lawyer,  an  able  writer,  a  pure  patriot,  and, 
above  all,  an  humble  follower  of  Christ — the  most 
popular  chief  magistrate  that  ever  occupied  the  chair  of 
state  in  New  Jersey.  We  must  not  forget  to  mention 
that  he  was  the  friend  and  patron  of  the  illustrious 
Alexander  Hamilton,  who  came  from  the  West  Indies 
Avitli  a  letter  to  him  from  the  Rev.  Hugh  Knox.  Mr. 
Livingston  sent  him  to  school,  under  the  charge  of 
Francis  Barber,  then  a  distinguished  teacher  of  the  town. 
But  he  and  his  pupil  soon  entered  the  ranks  of  the 


378  EAELIEST   CnUllCHES   IN  NEW   YOllK. 

Anieiicuu  army,  the  former  reacliing  a  colonel's  rank, 
and  the  scholar  a  i:)atriotic  and  world-renowned  fame. 
Colonel  Barber,  with  his  regiment,  served  under  General 
Schuyler,  at  the  North,  and  shared  in  the  battles  of 
Ticonderoga,  Trenton,  Princeton,  Brandywine,  German- 
town,  and  Monmouth,  nearly  losing  his  life  in  the  latter. 
He  was  also  actively  engaged  in  tlie  battle  of  Springfield, 
and  present,  in  1781,  at  the  capture  of  the  British  army 
in  Yorktown.  Praised  be  his  patriotism !  His  son, 
George  C.  Barber,  for  many  years  was  a  trustee  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  at  ElizabethtoAvu,  and  died 
one  of  its  ruling  elders. 

In  the  year  1786,  the  Rev.  William  Linn,  D.  D.,  was 
here  installed,  June  14,  1786.  He  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  born  in  1752,  graduating  from  Princeton 
College  when  twenty  years  old  ;  and  soon  we  find  him 
a  chaplain  in  the  American  army.  Remaining  only  a 
few  months  in  Elizabethtown,  he  received  and  accepted 
a  call  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  To  benefit  his  health,  he  removed  to  Albany, 
where  he  ended  his  ministry,  nearly  reaching  his  fifty- 
sixth  year.  He  was  a  very  popular  and  useful  divine, 
and  his  son,  the  Rev.  Jolm  Blair  Linn,  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  died  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty-seven.  A  poet  and  orator,  he  gave 
promise  of  becoming  one  of  the  most  able  ministers  in 
the  land.  His  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Simeon  Dewitt, 
for  many  years  the  well-known  Surveyor- General  of 
the  State  of  New  York. 


EAELIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  379 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

REV.  DAVID  AUSTIN    SUCCEEDS    MR.   LINN,  AND  HAS  A  STRANGE  HISTORY 

DECLARES    THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST    (l796) GREAT    EXCITEMENT 

TAKES  THE  VOW    OF    A  NAZARITE REMOVES    TO  NEW  HAVEN,  AND 

FINALLY    WAS     RELIEVED    OF     HIS     FANATICISM SUCCESSORS DRS. 

KOLLOCK,  MCDOWELL,  AND  MURRAY SECOND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

AND  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL REV.  THOMAS  MORRELL. 

The  Rev.  Dcavid  Austin  succeeded  Dr.  Linn.  He  was 
born  at  New  Haven,  in  1760.  Early  fitted  for  college, 
he  graduated  at  Yale  in  1779,  and  having  spent  some 
time  in  foreign  travel,  he  returned,  and  became  pastor 
of  the  Elizabethtown  Presbyterian  Church,  September 
9,  1788.  He  has  a  strange  histor}^,  and  labored  among 
his  flock,  greatly  beloA^ed  and  very  useful,  until  the 
close  of  1795.  During  that  year,  he  suffered  a  violent 
attack  of  scarlet  fever,  and,  although  slowly  recovering, 
still  it  affected  his  mind.  He  commenced  the  study  of 
the  Proi^hecies  during  his  recovery,  which  soon  plainly 
produced  a  mental  disease,  and  he  never  entirely  re- 
covered from  this  affliction.  As  soon  as  he  resumed  his 
pulpit  labors,  he  commenced  discoursing  on  the  60th 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  taught  the  personal  reign  of  the 
Saviour,  and  that  His  coming  would  take  place  on  the 
fourth  Sabbath  of  May,  1796.  An  immense  excitement 
followed,  and  on  that  Sabbath,  multitudes  could  not 
find  room  to   stand  in  his  church.     On  the  previous 


380  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YOEK. 

evening,  lie  dwelt  upon  the  preaching  of  Jonah  to  the 
Mnevites,  and  exhorted  the  people  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample.    Mourning  and  weeping  were  now  heard  in  all 
parts  of  the  excited  assembly.     But  the  following  day, 
the  sun  rose  as  nsnal,  but  with  more  than  usual  Sabbath 
brightness.      The   church  was  filled,    and  surrounded 
with  a  vast  crowd,  but  the  sacred  day  of  rest  passed 
away  without  any  unusual  occurrence,  and  many  of  his 
followers  saw  his  and  their  delusion.     His  friends  hoped 
that  the  mortifying  disappointment  would  cure  his  false 
prophesying,  and  the  Session  remonstrated  ;  but,  as  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  his  ingenuity  found  excuses  for  the 
delay  of  the  predicted  advent.     He  declared  that  the 
mere  mercy  of  God  prevented  the  punishment  of  the 
people,  and  he  now  took  the  vow  of  a  Nazarite,  preach- 
ing three  sermons  a  da}^,   through  this  section  of  the 
country.     His  constant  theme  Avas  the  near  and  certain 
approach  of  Christ,  with  His  personal  reign  on  the  earth. 
As  Joshua  led  the  Jews  into  the  j)romised  land,  and  as 
John  the  Baj^tist  was  the  forerunner  of  our  Saviour,  so 
he  was  to  bring  in  the  millennial  reign  of  righteousness. 
The  congregation,   now  seriously  disturbed  by  his 
proceedings,  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  him,  to 
learn  his    future   intentions.      He  replied  in  writing, 
avowing  his  purpose  "to  institute  a  new  church,  and 
set  up  a  new  order  of  things  in  ecclesiastical  concerns, 
independent  of  the  Presbytery,  of  the  Synod,  or  of  the 
General  Assembl}^"     To  warrant  such  a  course,  he  re- 
ferred them  to  the  third  and  sixth  chapters  of  the  pro- 
phecy of  Zechariah-     The  strange  letter  from  which  this 
is  extracted,  was  dated  ^' April  7,  A.  D.  1797." 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   TORK.  381 

Mr.  Austin' s  elders,  deacons,  and  trustees,  having  no 
desire  to  estaWisli  a  new  and  "independent"  church 
among  them,  petitioned  their  Presbytery,  that  the  "  pas- 
toral relation  between  the  Rev.  David  Austin  and  said 
congregation"  might  be  dissolved.  This  request  was 
granted,  and  after  his  removal  he  returned  to  New 
Haven,  whence  he  imagined  the  Jews  would  embark 
for  a  literal  return  to  the  Holy  Land.  He  even  erected 
a  wharf  and  houses  for  their  use  on  the  occasion,  and, 
poor  man,  unable  to  discharge  the  debts  thus  incurred, 
he  Avas  imprisoned  for  some  time. 

His  mind  recovering  in  some  degree,  in  1804  he  re- 
turned to  Elizabeth,  and,  refused  his  old  pulpit,  he  again 
returned  to  New  England.  Mercifully  continuing  to 
improve,  he  once  more  entered  upon  a  course  of  useful- 
ness, and  in  1815  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  the 
church  at  Bosrali.  Here  he  regularly  preached  with 
great  success  until  his  death,  February  5,  1831,  aged 
seventy-two  years. 

Up  to  the  period  of  his  severe  affliction,  Mr.  Austin 
was  universally  admired  and  beloved.  His  conversa- 
tional powers  wer?  extraordinary  ;  his  devotional  exer- 
cises peculiarly  impressive  ;  and  few,  it  is  stated,  ex- 
celled him  in  public  prayer.  He  edited  and  published  a 
Bible  Commentary,  some  of  President  Edwards'  s  works, 
and  the  "American  Preacher,"  until  it  reached  its  fourth 
volume.  At  the  height  of  his  fame  and  usefulness,  his 
intellect  became  disordered,  from  which  he  never  wholly 
recovered.  Let  all  who  favor  fanatical  views  about  tlie 
speedy  destruction  of  our  world  learn  wisdom  from  his 
sad  case. 


382  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

The  Rev.  John  Giles  was  the  next  Presbyterian  min- 
ister in  Elizabethtown,  a  native  of  England,  where  he 
preached  Avith  great  success  for  nine  years.  He  reached 
America  in  1798,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  this  church, 
June  4,  1800,  and  after  a  short  residence,  he  settled  at 
Newburyport,  Mass.  (1803),  where  he  labored  diligently 
until  his  death,  in  1824.  During  the  year  1800,  the  Rev. 
Henry  Kollock  took  the  spiritual  charge  of  this  congre- 
gation, and  after  a  successful  ministry  of  three  years, 
was  elected  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  College  of  New 
Jersey.  Subsequently  he  settled  in  Savannah,  Georgia, 
and  ended  his  da^^s  universally  lamented,  December  29, 
1819.  His  pul]Dit  eloquence  was  unsurpassed  during 
his  day. 

In  1804,  the  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.D.,  was  ordained 
the  successor  of  Dr.  Kollock,  and  with  fidelity  served 
this  congregation  twenty-nine  years,  and  then,  in  1833, 
became  the  pastor  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church, 
Philadelphia.  Nicholas  Murray,  D.D.,  was  the  next 
preacher,  and  settled  here  in  1833. 

The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabethtown 
was  organized  in  1819,  and  its  first  and  present  minister 
is  the  excellent  Rev.  Dr.  Magie. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  commenced  here 
as  early  as  the  year  1785,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Morrell,  one 
of  the  fathers  of  American  Methodism,  laboring  here  for 
many  years.  A  major  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution, 
he  was  wounded,  and  distinguished  himself  on  several 
occasions.  Of  great  energy  and  fervent  piety,  he  began 
to  preach  in  1786,  and  joyfnlly  ended  his  earthly  pil- 
grimage (1838)  at  the  j^rolonged  age  of  ninety-one  years. 


EAELIE3T   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOEK,  388 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

CHARLES     II.     INCORPORATES     THE     SOCIETY     TO     PREACH     THE     GOSPEL 

AMONG    THE     NATIVES     OF    AMERICA    (1661) ARCHBISHOP    TENISON 

WILLIAM     III.     INCORPORATES    ANOTHER,    AND     OF    GREAT    SERVICE 

TO    THE     EPISCOPAL    CHURCH COLONEL    MORRIS HIS     REPORT     ON 

STATE     OF     RELIGION     IN     NEW    JERSEY KEITH    AND     TALBOt's     MIS- 
SIONARY    TOUR JOHN     BROOK,     FIRST     EPISCOPAL     CLERGYMAN     IN 

ELIZABETHTOWN HIS     REPORTS ST.     JOHN's     BUILT     (l706) HIS 

LABORS — ^LORD      CORNBURY     UNITES      THE      NEW     JERSEY     AND      NEW 

YORK     PROVINCES IMPRISONS    THE     REV.    MR.    MOORE MR.    BROOK, 

FEARING    THE    SAME    TREATMENT,    SAILS    FOR    ENGLAND CORNBURY 

REMOVED     AND     IMPRISONED,    AND     AFTER     BECOMES     A     PEER MR. 

VAUGHAN     THE      NEXT     MISSIONARY PISCATAQUA THE      EARLIEST 

BAPTIST    SETTLEMENT    (1663),    AND    THEIR    FIRST    PREACHER,    HUGH 

DUNN — SUCCESSORS CHURCH    AT    SCOTCH    PLAINS EPISCOPALIANS 

AGAIN MR.    VAUGHAN     MARRIES    A    FORTUNE PREACHES    IN    ELIZA- 
BETH   FORTY    YEARS SUCCESSORS REV.    MR.   CHANDLER,  ETC.,  ETC., 

DOWN    TO    1853. 

ELIZABETHTOWN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

King  CiIxYRLes  the  Second,  in  the  year  1661,  incor- 
porated a  religious  company,  for  tlie  propagation  of  tlie 
Gospel  among  the  heathen  natives  of  New  England,  and 
the  parts  adjacent,  in  America.  It  is  more  necessary  to 
notice  this  incorporation,  because,  for  many  years,  the 
important  work  of  colonial  missions  was  conducted  by 
the  private  zeal  and  liberality  of  some  Christian  people 
in  Europe.  Archbishop  Tenison,  becoming  exceedingly 
concerned  in  the  religious  wants  of  the  American  colo- 
nies,  or  plantations,   exerted  himself  in  their  behalf. 


384  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK. 

From  liis  representations  to  William  the  Third,  His  Ma- 
jesty, on  the  16th  of  June,  1701,  incorporated  by  royal 
charter  the  ' '  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts."  To  this  venerable  bod}^  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  America  owes  an  immense  debt,  which 
she  can  best  repay  by  similar  activity  and  liberality  in 
the  woik  of  Christian  missions.  Under  the  fostering 
care  of  this  society  were  laid  the  earliest  foundations  of 
our  colonial  Episcopal  churches. 

New  Jersey  was  then  a  portion  of  the  New  York  col- 
ony and  government;  and,  in  the  year  1700,  Colonel 
Morris  wrote  a  memorial  about  the  state  of  religion  in 
the  Jerseys.  "The  province  of  East  Jersey  has  in  it 
ten  towns,  vzt.  :  Middletown,  Freehold,  Amboy,  Pisca- 
taway,  and  Woodbridge,  Elizabeth  Town,  Newark, 
Aquechenonch,  and  Bergen  ;  and,  I  Judge,  in  the  whole 
province,  there  may  be  about  eight  thousand  souls. 
These  towns  are  not  like  the  towns  in  England — the 
houses  built  close  together  on  a  small  spot  of  ground — 
but  they  include  large  portions  of  the  country,  of  from 
five,  eight,  ten,  twelve,  fifteen  miles  in  length,  and  as 
much  in  breadth.  .  .  .  These  towns,  and  the  whole 
province,  Avere  peopled  mostly  from  the  adjacent  colo- 
nies of  New  York  and  New  England,  and  generally  by 
persons  of  very  narrow  fortunes,  and  such  as  could  not 
well  subsist  in  the  places  they  left.  And  if  such  people 
could  bring  au}^  religion  with  them,  it  was  that  of  the 
country  they  came  from,  and  the  state  of  them  is  as  fol- 
lows :  .  .  .  Elizabeth  Town  and  Newark  were  peo- 
phid  from  New  England ;  are  generally  Independents ; 
they  have  a  meeting-house  in  each  town  for  their  public 


EARLIEST   CIIUECIIES   IN  NEW   YORK.  385 

worship.  There  are  some  few  Churchmen,  Presbyte- 
rians, Anahaptists,  and  Quakers  settled  among  them." 

Tlie  memorial  of  Colonel  Morris  closes  with  this  good 
advice,  and,  although  suggested  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half  ago,  is  wholesome  in  our  day :  ' '  Let  the 
king,  the  archbishop,  ye  bishops  and  great  men,  admit 
no  man,  for  so  many  years,  to  any  great  benefice,  but 
such  as  shall  oblige  themselves  to  jDreach  three  years, 
gratis,  in  iVmerica.  With  part  of  the  living,  let  him 
maintain  a  curate,  and  the  other  part  let  him  apply  to 
his  own  use.  By  this  means,  we  shall  have  the  greatest 
and  best  men ;  and,  in  human  probability,  such  men 
must,  in  a  short  time,  make  a  wonderful  progress  in  the 
conversion  of  those  countries — especially,  when  it  is 
perceived  the  good  of  souls  is  the  only  motive  to  this 
undertaking." 

In  the  years  1702-3,  the  Rev.  George  Keith  and  the 
Rev.  John  Talbot  made  a  missionary  tour  to  this  region, 
the  former  publishing,  in  1706,  "A  Journal  of  Travels, 
from  New  Hampshire  to  Caratuck,  on  the  Continent  of 
North  America."  He  says,  Nov.  3,  1703  :  "I  preached 
at  Andrew  Craig' s,  in  the  township  of  Elizabeth  Town, 
on  2  Pet.  i.  5  :  and  baptized  his  four  children."  On 
Sunday,  December  19,  following,  he  delivered  sermons 
at  the  house  of  Colonel  Townley,  both  forenoon  and 
afternoon,  from  1  Pet.  xi.  9.  "Many  of  that  town,"  he 
adds,  "having  been  formerly  a  sort  of  Independents, 
are  become  well  affected  to  the  Church  of  England,  and 
desire  to  have  a  minister  sent  to  them.  There  I  baptized 
a  child  of  Mr.  Shakmaple." 

At  this  period,  Elizabethtown  was  the  largest  place  in 
25 


386  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

the  province  of  East  Jersey,  containing  some  three  hun- 
dred families,  and  it  is  believed  that  these  were  the  first 
Episcopal  services  ever  held  there.  The  Rev.  John 
Brook  was  sent  to  America  by  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  and,  advised  by 
Governor  Cornbnry  to  settle  at  Elizabeth  Town  and 
Perth  Amboy,  he  writes  from  the  former  place,  August 
20,  1705:  "Shrewsbury,  Freehold,  and  Middletown  are 
already  sux^plied  by  Dr.  Janes,  a  very  goode  man.  .  .  . 
There  are  five  Independent  ministers  in  and  about  the 
places  I  xDreach  at,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  people 
are  followers  of  them.  .  .  .  We  design,  God  willing, 
next  spring,  to  begin  to  build  two  churches — one  at 
Elizabeth  Town,  the  other  at  Amboy  (November  23, 
1705).  I  must  expect  no  subscriptions  before  they  be 
finished.  I  have  gathered  a  large  congregation  at  Pisca- 
taway,  about  twenty  miles  from  Elizabeth  Town.  An 
Independent  minister  has  left  them  since  I  came,  and 
now  they  are  very  desirous  that  the  Rt.  Rev.  and  Hon- 
orable Society  would  be  pleased  to  send  one  of  the 
Church  of  England,  who  is  not  a  Scotchman.  If  a  min- 
ister of  temper  was  sent  hither,  he  might  do  more  service 
than  any  other  place  I  know." 

In  the  3^ear  1706,  on  St.  John  the  Baptist' s  Day,  Mr. 
Brooks  laid  the  foundation  of  a  brick  church  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  calling  it  "St.  John's,"  fifty  feet  long,  thirty 
wide,  and  twenty-one  high.  His  communicants  num- 
bered ten.  The  congregation  increasing,  he  obtained  a 
barn  for  his  religious  services,  and,  he  writes,  "in  har- 
vest we  were  obliged  to  relinquisli,  whereupon,  the 
dissenters,  who,  presently  after  I  came,  were  destitute 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IIST   NEW   YORK.  387 

of  their  old  teachers  (one  of  them  being  struck  witli 
decath  in  their  meeting-house,  as  he  was  railing  against  the 
Church,  and  the  other  being  at  Boston),  would  not  suf- 
fer me,  upon  my  request,  to  officiate  in  their  meeting- 
house, unless  I  would  promise  not  to  read  any  of  the 
prayers  of  the  Church,  which  I  complied  with,  upon 
condition  I  might  read  the  Psalms,  Lessons,  Epistle,  and 
Gospel  apx3ointed  for  the  day,  which  I  did,  and  said  all 
the  rest  of  the  service  by  heart,  the  doing  of  which 
brought  a  great  many  to  hear  me,  who  otherwise,  prob- 
ably, would  never  have  heard  the  service  of  the  Church. 
.  .  .  Their  teacher  begins  at  eight  in  the  morning,  and 
ends  at  ten,  and  then  our  service  begins ;  and  in  the 
afternoon,  we  begin  at  two.  The  greatest  part  of  the 
Dissenters  generally  stay  to  hear  all  our  services.  We 
shall  only  get  the  outside  of  our  church  uj)  this  year, 
and  I'm  afraid  fwill  be  a  year  or  more  before  we  can 
iiuish  the  inside,  for  I  find,  these  hard  times,  a  great 
many  are  very  backward  to  pay  their  subscriptions. 
At  Amboy,  we've  got  a  great  many  of  the  materials 
ready  to  build  a  stone  church  with,  fifty-four  feet  long 
and  thirty  wide,  next  sj^ring.  .  .  .  Ujoon  my  arrival 
here,  instead  of  churches,  which  I  exj)ected,  I  met  only 
with  private  rooms,  except  at  Amboy,  where  there  is  an 
old  little  court-house  that  serves  for  one.  ,  .  .  Al- 
most discouraged,  to  find  the  Church  had  got  so  little 
footing  in  these  parts,  I  resolved  heartily  and  sincerely  to 
endeavor  to  promote  her,  so  much  as  in  my  power,  in 
order  to  which  I  began  to  preach,  catechise,  and  ex- 
pound, twelve,  fourteen,  sometimes  fifteen  days  per 
month  (which  I  still  do).     ...     I  drew  a  bill  of  fifty 


388  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

pounds  upon  my  sister,  wlio  receives  my  money  of  Mr. 
Hodges,  which  I've  given  to  Elizabeth  Town ;  ten 
pounds  to  Piscataway ;  ten  pounds  to  Amboy ;  five 
pounds  to  the  church  that  is  to  be  at  Freehold ;  two 
pounds  to  that  at  Cheesequakes ;  three  pounds  to- 
wards printing  Dr.  Ashton'  s  piece  against  the  Anabap- 
tists, and  for  Catechisms  to  give  away — and  it  hath  cost 
me  above  ten  pounds  in  riding  about  the  provinces  of 
jN'ew  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  this  to  get  subscrip- 
tions. I  should  never  have  mentioned  this,  had  not  my 
circumstances  obliged  me  to  it.  I  could  not  have  given 
near  so  much  out  of  your  one  hundred  pounds  per  an- 
num, had  I  not  been  very  well  stocked  with  clothes  I 
brought  from  England,  and  had  some  money  of  my  own. 
For,  I  ride  so  much,  I'm  obliged  to  keep  two  horses, 
which  cost  me  twenty  pounds  ;  and  one  horse  cannot  be 
kept  well  under  ten  or  eleven  pounds  per  annum. 
'Twill  cost  a  man  near  thirty  pounds  per  annum  to  board 
here  ;  and,  sure,  'twill  cost  me  much  more,  who,  pilgrim- 
like, can  scarce  ever  be  three  days  together  at  a  place. 
All  clothing  here  is  twice  as  dear,  at  least,  as  'tis  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  riding  so  much  makes  me  wear  out  many 
more  than  I  ever  did  before.  .  .  .  I've  so  many 
places  to  take  care  of  that  I've  scarce  any  time  to  study  ; 
neither  can  I  sujDply  any  of  them  so  well  as  the}^  should 
be.  I  humbly  beg,  therefore,  you'll  be  pleased  to  send 
a  minister  to  take  charge  of  Elizabeth  Town  and  Raw- 
way  upon  him,  and  I'll  take  all  the  care  I  can  of  the 
rest." 

Such  was  the  introduction  of  the  Churcli  of  England 
in  the  province  of  New  Jersey.    In  reading  its  account 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  389 

from  this  earliest  and  zealous  missionary,  it  reminds  us 
of  John  Wesley's  saddle-bag  Christian  heroes.  We 
have  extracted  largely  from  Mr.  Brooks'  s  letter,  as  it  is 
the  best  record  of  those  times  that  we  can  present. 

In  the  year  1702,  Lord  Cornbury,  the  eldest  son  of 
Earl  Clarendon,  arrived  in  America,  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  government  of  New  York  and  the 
Jerseys.  These  provinces  had  been  divorced  for  some 
time,  but  the  proprietors  differing,  they  ceded  their 
patents  to  Queen  Anne,  when  her  majesty  placed  both 
under  the  command  of  Lord  Cornbury.  •  He  was  a  near 
kinsman  of  her  own,  and  the  two  colonies  remained  thus 
united  until  the  year  1735,  each  however  preserving  a 
distinct  legislative  assembly.  Cornbury  was  a  wicked 
adventurer,  whose  sole  claim  to  this  important  command 
could  only  rest  on  his  relationship  to  the  Queen  or  roy- 
alty. Churchman,  as  he  was,  his  conduct  became  very 
arbitrary  to  ministers  of  his  own  denomination. 

The  Governor  imprisoned  in  Fort  Anne,  1707,  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Moore,  but  he  escaped  ;  when,  Mr.  Brooks  fear- 
ing the  same  treatment,  both  left  for  England.  An  early 
writer  says  that  "Mr.  Brooks  and  Mr.  Moore  are  much 
lamented,  being  the  most  pious  and  industrious  mission- 
ers  that  the  Honorable  Society  ever  sent  over,"  and 
"whose  crime  was  for  opposing  and  condemning  boldly 
vice  and  immorality." 

Wearied  with  Cornbury' s  tyranny,  the  citizens  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  at  last  petitioned  the  Queen 
for  his  removal,  when  she  had  to  revoke  her  kinsman's 
commission.  Immediately,  his  creditors  threw  him  into 
the  debtor's  prison,  at  the  new  City  Hall  on  Wall  street, 


330  EAKLIE3T   ClIUKCHES    IN   NEW  YORK. 

where  the  persc^cutor  remained  until  the  death  of  his 
father,  Earl  Clarendon,  elevated  him  from  the  cell  to  the 
peerage  of  England. 

Mr.  Brooks  died  in  1707,  and  two  years  afterwards  the 
Rev.  EdAvard  Vanghan  was  appointed  missionary  for 
this  region  of  New  Jersey,  at  a  salary  of  fifty  pounds 
per  annum,  which,  he  writes,  "will  not  afford  me  a 
competent  subsistence  in  this  dear  place,  where  no  con- 
tributions are  given  by  the  people  towards  ni}^  suj)port, 
and  where  I  am  continually  obliged  to  be  itinerant,  and 
consequently  at  great  expense  in  crossing  ferries."  This 
was  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  the  present  day 
of  well-known  Jersey  railroads  and  bridges.  The  Prop- 
agation Society,  in  1710-11,  sent  over  from  England  a  Mr. 
Thomas  Halliday,  to  divide  the  missionary  burdens  with 
Mr.  Vaughan.  The  new  missionary  officiated  at  Amboy 
and  Piscataqua,  and  reports  that  "Amboy  is  a  place 
pitched  on  by  the  Jerseys  as  most  commodious  for  their 
trade  in  the  country,  in  good  hopes  tliat  some  time  or 
other  it  will  appear  a  well-peopled  ally.  .  .  Piscataqua 
makes  a  much  greater  congregation,  and  there  are  some 
pious  and  well-dis]30sed  ]3eople  among  them  ;  some  come 
from  good  distances  to  this  meeting,  but  there  is  nothing 
among  us  like  the  face  of  a  Church  of  England  ;  no 
surplice,  no  Bible,  no  communion  table ;  an  old  broken 
house,  insufficient  to  keep  us  from  the  injuries  of  the 
weather,  and  where,  likewise,  the  Anabaptists,  which 
swarm  in  this  place,  do  sometimes  preach,  and  Ave  cannot 
hinder,  the  house  belonging  to  the  toAvn."  Piscataqua 
was  tli(^  earli(?st  Baptist  si^ttlement  in  the  State,  the  tract 
purcliased  from  tlie  Indians  in  the  year  1663,  and  their 


EAKLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOPwK.  391 

patent  obtained  the  following  year  of  Governor  Nicolls, 
under  the  Duke  of  York.  Among  the  recorded  settlers 
here,  we  find  the  Gillmans,  Drakes,  Hands,  Hendricks, 
Martins,  Higginses,  Dunhams,  Fitz  Randolphs,  Suttons, 
Fords,  Davises,  Mortons,  Dunns,  &c.,  &c.  Most  of  these, 
it  is  supposed,  were  Baptists,  "'•  and  their  first  preachers 
Hugh  Dunn,  John  Drake,  and  Edmond  Dunham.  These, 
with  Nicholas  Bonhani,  John  Smalley,  and  John  Fitz 
Randolph,  in  the  spring  of  1689,  were  constituted  a 
"  Baptist  Church"  in  Piscataway.  Then  succeeded  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  Stelle,  of  French  extraction,  who  died  in 
1759  ;  who  Avas  followed  by  his  son,  Isaac  Stelle,  1781 ; 
Reune  Runyan  till  1811 ;  James  McLaughlin,  1817 ; 
Daniel  Dodge,  1832  ;  Daniel  D.  Lewis,  1833,  &c. 

The  Seventh-day  Baptist  Church  was  formed  by  sev- 
enteen seceders  from  the  Piscataqua  Church,  in  the  year 
1707,  the  Rev.  Edmond  Dunham  becoming  tlieir  first 
pastor ;  his  son,  Jonathan  Dunham,,  was  his  successor, 
and  Nathan  Rogers  the  next  preacher.  During  thirty 
years  this  congregation  was  the  only  one  of  the  denomi- 
nation in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  Rev.  Walter 
B.  Gillette  became  its  next  pastor.  In  1747,  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Scotch  Plains  was  formed  by  members  of  the 
Piscataqua  society,  and  the  Rev.  Jacob  Fitz  Randolph 
became  their  minister,  and  after  him  the  Rev.  Lebbeus 
Lathrop  and  E.  M.  Barker. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  Episcopalians.  In  1714,  we 
find  that  ' '  Mr.  Vaughan  is  settled,  and  marrying  a  for- 
tune of  two  thousand  pounds,  and  has  taken  up  his 
residence  at  Amboy,  and  intends  to  serve  it  and  Elizabeth 

*  Hist.  Col.  New  Jersey. 


392  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Town."  Mr.  Vaiiglian  continued  to  minister  at  Eliza- 
"bethtown  for  nearly  forty  years,  remarkable  for  liis  amia- 
ble and  social  qualities,  and  beloved  by  his  own  people. 
He  became  very  intimate  witli  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dickinson, 
the  Presl^yterian  pastor  of  the  town,  although  in  tem- 
perament and  doctrine  warmly  opposed  to  each  other. 
Just  as  Mr.  Vaughan  was  dying,  the  intelligence  came 
of  Dickinson' s  death,  and  among  his  last  audible  words 
he  said:  " O  that  I  had  liold  of  the  skirts  of  brother 
Jonathan  !"^^ 

After  his  death,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wood  occasionally 
served  the  Episcopal  church  at  Elizabethtown  and  New 
BrunsAvick.  Then  an  application  was  made  to  the  Soci- 
ety in  England  for  a  permanent  minister,  and  Thomas 
Bradbury  Chandler  was  appointed  catechist,  and  after- 
wards ordained  rector  of  the  church.  Subsequently  he 
rose  to  distinction,  becoming  a  very  able  defender  of  Epis- 
copacy. Under  his  ministry,  in  tlic  year  1782,  the  church 
received  a  charter  from  the  Crown,  which  still  remains 
the  law  to  regulate  the  secular  affiiirs  of  the  congrega- 
tion. The  Revolutionary  War  had  a  ruinous  eifect  upon 
this  church.  Connected  with  the  Crown,  a  Churchman 
and  a  foe  of  popular  libertybecame  synonymous  terms. 
Dr.  Chandler  retired  to  England,  remaining  there  for  some 
years  after  the  war,  but  returning  in  1785.  He  died 
1790.  His  ministry  protracted  and  able,  his  name  will 
long  be  revered  among  the  fathers  of  the  Episco^^al 
Church  in  New  Jersey.  The  interior  of  the  church  was 
destroyed,  and  converted  into  a  stable  by  the  common 
enemy.     After  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  soon  repaired, 

*  JLiirray's  Notes  on  Elizabethtown. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK.  393 

and  for  some  time  continued  the  only  place  for  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  God  in  the  town.  After  its  repair,  Dr. 
Ogden  liere  preached  with  great  power  and  success,  but 
subsequently  became  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Spragg,  previously  a  Methodist  minis- 
ter, was  elected  rector  in  1789,  and  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  of  his  people.  After  a  brief 
ministry  of  five  years,  he  died  suddenly,  in  1794.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Raynor,  who  had  also  been  connected  with 
the  Methodist  Church,  succeeded  him,  1795-6,  but 
removed  to  Coimecticut  in  1801.  He  gave  up  Meth- 
odism for  Ei^iscopacy,  and  then  Episcopacy  to  embrace 
Universalism.  Strange  changes  !  He  now  preached  the 
doctrine  first  declared  to  Eve  in  the  garden  of  Eden  by 
the  lying  serpent:  "Ye  shall  not  surely  die;"  a  doc- 
trine whose  boast  and  claim  to  antiquity  are  certainly 
beyond  all  question. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Beasley  next  occupied  the  pulpit, 
remaining  until  1803.  Then  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lilly  served 
the  parish  (1803)  for  two  years,  when  he,  removing  to 
the  South,  died.  His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rudd, 
in  1806,  and  after  a  very  successful  ministry  of  twenty 
years,  took  charge  of  a  large  congregation  at  Auburn, 
]N"ew  York. 

In  June,  1826,  the  Rev.  Smith  Pyne  was  called  to  fill 
the  vacancy,  and  retired  December,  1828.  Next  suc- 
ceeded, in  1829,  the  Rev.  B.  G.  JS'oble,  resigning  1833  ; 
and  the  Rev.  Richard  C.  Moore,  Jr.,  a  most  excellent 
and  pious  pastor,  in  February,  1834.  In  1855,  he 
resigned  the  rectorship  of  St.  John's,  and  is  now  the 


394  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW  YORK. 

pastor  of  Christ  Cliurcli,  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania. 
During  his  long  and  fruitful  ministrations  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  the  church  was  almost  rebuilt,  a  fine  Sunday- 
school  room  added,  and  the  communicants  largely 
increased.  Grace  Church,  a  missionary  one,  was  also 
erected  at  Elizabethport  by  the  zeal  and  liberality  of  his 
congregation.  In  the  year  1853,  the  members  of  St. 
John's  formed  another  congregation  under  the  name 
of  Christ  Church,  and  erected  a  beautiful  stone  chapel 
and  rectory  in  the  Gothic  style,  at  a  cost  of  over  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  including  the  lot.  Its  pews  are  free, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hoffman  its  zealous  pastor.  A  parish 
library  has  also  been  founded. 


EARLIEST   CnUKCHES   IN  ISTEW   YORK.  895 


CHAPTER  XXXYIL 

EXTENT    OF    NEW    NETHERLAND ITS     SETTLERS PALATINES    AT    KING- 
STON       (1660)  BEAUTIFUL         TRADITION "  TRI-CORS  " FRENCH 

BIBLE RELIGIOUS     LIBERTY CHURCH     ORGANIZED     AT     NEW     PALTZ 

BY    REV.  P.  DAILLE   (1683) THE  "WALLOON    PROTESTANT    CHURCh" 

HIS    MISSION FRENCH    THE    COMMON    LANGUAGE THE  "dUZINE" 

LOUISE     DUBOISE,    ELDER,    AND     HUGH    FREER,    DEACON DAILLe's 

GRAVE     RECENTLY     DISCOVERED- — INSCRIPTION HIS     WILL BONRE- 

POS     HIS     SUCCESSOR     AT     NEW     PALTZ     (169G) — DUTCH     LANGUAGE 
INTRODUCED NEW    CHURCH CURIOUS    DOCUMENT. 

The  colony  of  New  Netlierland  continued  forty  years 
after  the  first  agricultural  settlement  until  1664,  when  it 
was  ceded  to  the  British  Government.  It  had  extended 
from  New  Amsterdam  to  the  neighboring  regions  of  Long 
Island  and  New  Jersey  ;  and  the  Dutch  j^ojDulation  was 
to  be  found  at  Esopus,  now  Kingston  and  vicinity,  and 
at  Rensselaer wy ck,  the  present  Albany.  Hollanders 
and  Huguenots  soon  settled  in  the  valleys  of  the  Hack- 
ensack,  Passaic,  and  Raritan  Rivers,  and  along  the  Mo- 
hawk and  Schoharie.  Some  of  the  Protestant  French 
families  from  the  Palatinate,  in  Germany,  found  their 
way  to  Kingston  as  early  as  the  year  1660.  They  had 
fled  the  religious  persecutions  of  France  for  a  temporary 
asylum  in  Germany,  and  thence  emigrated  to  America, 

There  is  a  beautiful  traditionary  incident  which  gives 
a  clear  insight  into  their  earliest  religious  life  in  America. 
As  soon  as  they  had  unharnessed  and  unpacked  their 


396  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   I]S^  NEW  YORK. 

teams  on  the  AVallkil,  where  they  at  first  had  intended 
to  settle,  at  a  place  called  the  "Tri-Cors,"  then  they 
opened  their  French  Bible,  and  reading  the  twenty-third 
Psalm,  engaged  in  the  solemn  duties  of  Christian  wor- 
ship. Pions  inauguration  of  their  American  history ! 
Here  they  settled,  and  a  few  weeks  after,  among  the  first 
buildings  erected  was  a  log  cabin,  answering  the  double 
purpose  of  a  church  and  school-house.  In  this  humble 
place,  doubtless,  for  the  first  time  they  enjoyed  a  free 
Gospel  in  their  own  sweetly-flowing  tongue.  From  this 
fountain,  springing  up  in  the  American  wilderness,  they 
now  imbibed  religious  liberty— a  privilege,  happiness, 
and  realization  sweeter  to  them  than  life  itself ;  they  had 
fled  from  home,  and  kindred,  and  country,  to  procure 
this  inestimable  blessing.  Mrs.  Hemans  has  finely  por- 
trayed such  a  sublime  sight  in  her  "Huguenot's  Fare- 
well:"— 


"I  go  up  to  the  ancient  hills, 

Where  chains  may  never  be; 
Where  leap  in  joy  the  torrent  rills ; 

Where  man  may  worship  Uod,  alone  and  free. 

"  And  song  shall  midst  the  rocks  be  heard, 

And  fearless  prayer  ascend ; 
While  thrilling  to  God's  most  holy  Word, 

The  mountain  pines  in  adoration  bend. 

"  Then  fare  thee  well,  my  mother's  bower ; 

Farewell,  my  father's  hearth  1 
Perish  my  home !  where  lawless  power 

Hath  rent  the  tie  of  love  to  native  earth. 

"  Perish  I  let  death-like  silence  fall 

Upon  the  lone  abode ; 
Spread  fast,  dark  ivy — sjiread  thy  pall — 

I  go  up  to  the  mountains  with  my  God." 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  397 

To  tliis  little  pious  band  in  the  American  wilderness 
the  Rev.  Pierre  Daille  first  gave  the  bread  of  life.  The 
church  at  New  Paltz  was  organized  by  him  on  the  22d 
of  January,  1683,  with  the  name  of  tlie  "Congregation 
of  the  Walloon  Protestant  Church,"-^  after  the  manner 
and  discipline  of  the  Church  at  Geneva,  and  according 
to  JoJin  Calvin's  tenets. 

Mr.  Daille  may  be  styled  the  great  apostle  of  the 
Huguenots  in  America.  His  missionary  services  appear 
to  have  been  divided  between  the  French  Protestant 
churches  at  New  Paltz  and  New  York,  until  his  depar- 
ture to  serve  the  Huguenots  in  Boston.  In  the  city  of 
New  York,  Mons.  Peter  Pieret  succeeded  him,  in  1697, 
who  received  towards  his  salary  twenty  pounds  annually 
from  the  municipal  government,  f 

We  learn  this  historical  fact  of  the  organization  of  the 
church  at  New  Paltz  from  its  record,  written  in  French 
MSS.  It  extends  from  1683  to  1702,  a  period  of  nineteen 
years,  during  which  the  French  was  the  prevailing  lan- 
guage of  the  settlement.  The  entries  were  made  by  eight 
different  hands,  including  the  autographs  of  Abraham 
Hasbrouck,  Louis  Dubois,  and  Louis  Bevier,  three  of 
the  original  "Duzine,"  or  "Twelve  Patentees."  At  the 
close  of  the  record  are  two  or  three  entries  in  Dutch, 
and  hence  we  conclude  that  then,  about  the  year  1700, 
the  French  was  superseded  by  the  Dutch.  Its  first 
entry  is  the  organization  of  the  church,  reading  thus : 
"January  22d,  1683,  Mr.  Pierre  Daille,  minister  of  the 
Word  of  God,  arrived  at  New  Paltz,  and  preached  twice 

*  Hon.  A.  B.  Hasbrouck.  f  Doc.  Hist. 


308  EARLIEST   ClIUECIIES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

on  the  Sunday  following,  and  proposed  to  the  families 
to  choose  hy  a  majority  of  votes  of  the  fathers  of  fami- 
lies an  elder  and  deacon,  which  they  did,  and  chose 
Louis  Dubois  for  elder,  and  Hugh  Freer  for  deacon,  to 
aid  the  minister  in  the  management  of  the  members  of 
the  church  meeting  at  New  Paltz,  who  were  then  con- 
tinued to  the  said  charge  of  elder  and  deacon.  The  pres- 
ent minister  has  been  made  to  put  in  order  the  things 
which  pertain  to  the  said  church." 

Thus  early,  one  hundred  and  eighty  years  ago,  was 
organized  a  church  in  New  Paltz,  consisting  originally 
of  only  ten  or  twelve  families.  Mr.  Daille,  their  pastor, 
did  not  reside  permanently  among  them,  but  visited 
them  at  their  homes,  preaching  the  Gospel  and  adminis- 
tering the  Sacrament.  His  journeys  must  have  been  b}^ 
water  to  Esopus,  and  thence  on  the  land  over  the  rugged 
intervening  region — a  tedious,  toilsome  road  then.  His 
last  recorded  service  was  the  marriage  of  "Peter  Gui- 
man,  native  of  Saintonge,  to  Esther  Hasbrouck,  native 
of  the  Palatinate,  in  Germany,  April  18,  1692."  About 
the  year  1724,  he  was  settled  in  the  French  church  in 
New  York.  In  1696,  he  removed  to  the  French  church, 
in  Boston.  He  was  a  2')i'ef^^ber  of  talents,  and  beloved 
as  a  faithful  pastor. 

For  a  long  time  his  grave  has  been  an  object  of  search 
by  those  who  venerate  his  name  and  memor3\  It  was 
accidentally  found,  1860,  in  the  Boston  Granary  Burial- 
Ground  ;  and  some  time  after,  while  excavating  a  cellar 
in  Pleasant  street,  some  of  the  workmen  struck  the 
lieadstone.  It  is  a  slate-stone  slab,  with  this  inscrip- 
tion: 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   TORK.  399 

HERE    LYES   YE   BODY   OF   YE 

RKV.     MR.     PETER     DAILLE, 

Minister  of  ye  French  Church,  in  Boston: 

died  the  21  of  may,  1715, 

in    the    g7    year    op    his    age. 

Mr.  Daille  Iburied  two  wives  while  residing  in  Boston ; 
lie  left  a  widow,  named  Martha,  and  in  his  will  directed 
his  body  to  be  "decently  interred,"  "with  this  restric- 
tion, that  there  be  no  wine  at  my  funei'al,  and  none  of 
my  wife' s  relations  have  any  mourning  clothes  furnished 
them,  except  gloves."  Measures  have  been  taken  to 
restore  the  newly-discovered,  venerable  gravestone  of 
Mr.  Daille  to  its  true  original  spot  in  the  Granary 
Burying-Ground. 

The  next  ]oastor  of  the  French  church  at  l^ew  Paltz 
was  the  Rev.  M.  Bonrepos,  This  is  the  same  minister 
who  signs  himself  "the  Pastor  of  this  French  Colony," 
in  a  communication,  during  the  year  1690,  to  Governor 
Leister,  from  New  Rochelle.  He  was  naturalized  at  the 
same  place,  under  the  great  seal  of  the  province,  in 
1696,"'  and  his  first  ministerial  recorded  services  at  New 
Paltz  are  dated  May  31, 1696.  In  the  year  1699  he  held 
two  communion  services,  when  eight  were  received  at  the 
.  Lord' s  table.  His  last  ministerial  record  is  dated  June 
19,  1700.  The  name  of  Bonrepos  is  among  the  most 
illustrious  of  the  Huguenot  leaders  or  Reformers  in 
France,  and  we  can  easily  imagine  that  this  exiled  Pro- 
testant French  preacher  was  a  worthy  descendant  of 
pious  ' '  noble  sires ;' '  but  we  have  never  been  able  to 

*  Doc.  Hist.  N.  T. 


400  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

discover  any  thing  further  of  his  history  tlian  this  mere 
notice. 

Between  the  years  1700  and  1730,  at  New  Paltz,  the 
Dutch  hmguage  took  the  place  of  the  French,  and,  in 
consequence  of  this  transition,  the  French  church  did 
not  secure  a  settled  ministry.  Still,  although  the  fathers 
of  the  colony  did  not  have  the  ministrations  of  a  preacher 
in  their  own  native  tongue,  they  were  hy  no  means  neg- 
lectful of  their  Church  obligation  and  duties.  The  earl}^ 
records  of  ba^^tisms  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  in 
Kingston  bear  witness  that  many  a  tiresome  journey 
was  made  to  that  place  by  these  Huguenots,  to  enjoy 
tlie  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  its  holy  ordinances. 

At  a  later  period,  when  the  Dutch  language  had  be- 
come more  general,  the  services  of  Dutch  ministers  from 
Albany  and  Kingston  were  obtained,  and  the  Huguenots 
even  erected  a  second  church,  which  was  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  the  Almighty  on  December  29th,  1720. 
This  was  small,  and  the  brick  imported  from  Hol- 
land ;  its  form  square,  each  of  the  three  sides  having 
a  large  window,  and  the  fourth  a  capacious  door  and 
portico.  In  the  centre  of  its  steep  roof  stood  a  little 
steeple,  from  which  sounded  the  hoi-n,  the  notice  of 
religious  services.  At  this  period  there  appears  a  curi- 
ous document,  written  in  French,  designating  the  places 
wiiich  each  seat-holder  should  occupy  on  the  benches. 
It  purported  to  be  an  article  of  agreement  between  the 
members  of  the  congregation,  and  no  doubt  answered 
every  purpose  of  a  deed,  securing  the  rights  of  the  hear- 
ers to  their  sittings. 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  401 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

NEW    PALTZ,     CONTINtTED REFORMED     DUTCH     CHURCH DOMINIE     VAN 

DRIESSBN THE    CCETUS  AND    CONFERENTI.E REV.  MR.   EREYENMOET 

JOINTLY    CALLED     BY    ROCHESTER,  MARBLETOWN,  SHAWANGUNK,  AND 

NEW     PALTZ MR.     GOETSCHIUS     SUCCEEDED      HIM A     TEACHER     OF 

THEOLOGY IIIS    YOUNGER    BROTHER,   AN    M.     D.,  TAKES    1113     PLACE, 

PREACHING      IN       GERMAN      AND      DUTCH CALLED       THE      "DOCTOR 

dominie" CURES    A    MANIAC    BY    MUSIC DIVISION    IN  THE  CHURCH 

(1'767) DOMINIES OLD    CHURCH   AT  NEW  PALTZ  TAKEN  DOWN    AND 

NEW    ONE    ERECTED REV.    S.    GOETSCHIUS    THE    MINISTER    (l775) 

UNITES  THE  TWO  CONGREGATIONS INDIAN  INCURSIONS NEW  PALTZ 

ESCAPES THE    pastor's    LAST    SERMON HIS     SUCCESSORS,    REV.    W, 

R.    BOGARDUS,  VAN  OLINDA,   AND  VANDERVOORT. 

NEW   PALTZ   REFORMED   DUTCH   CHURCH. 

From  the  dedication  of  the  Second  French  Church 
at  New  Paltz,  no  permanent  pastoral  services  were  per- 
formed until  1731,  when  Dominie  Van  Driessen  visited 
the  little  flock,  and  from  the  records  Ave  learn  that  he 
ordained  deacons  and  elders.  He  styles  them  "  Our 
French  Church,"  and  his  ministry  among  them  contin- 
ued until  May  11th,  1736.  Twenty-two  members  were 
received  on  probation  during  his  ministry  at  the  Paltz. 
He  came  from  Belgium  originall}^,  and  sustained  a 
•  thorough  examination  before  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Haven  in  1727,  and,  after  ordination,  his  first  settlement 
was  at  Livingston  Manor  (now  Linlithgow),  and  Rensse- 
laerwick  (Kinderhook  and  Claverack).  Here  he  was  in- 
vited by  Rob  Livinston,  who  had  just  finished  a  church 
at  the  Manor,  and  removed  soon  after  his  death,  in  1728. 
26 


402  EARLIEST   CIIUECIIE3   IN"   Is^EW   YOIIK. 

Mr.  Van  Driesseii  was  not  regularly  installed  at  New 
Paltz,  in  consequence  of  his  not  having  received  ordina- 
tion and  license  from  the  Mother  Church,  which,  at 
that  moment,  was  regarded  as  most  essential.  Notwith- 
standing this  irregularity,  he  performed  the  duties  of  a 
pastor  at  New  Paltz  from  1731  to  1735,  when  he  was 
called  to  Acquackanonck,  remaining  there  till  1748. 
Dominie  Van  Driessen  appears  to  have  been  a  represen- 
tative man,  as  he  was  the  first  instance,  in  the  northern 
sectioji  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  of  irregularity 
in  ordination.  This  question  originated  the  contention 
between  the  two  parties,  the  Coetus  and  the  Conferen- 
tia.  Notwithstanding  he  pursued  this  course  to  save 
the  trouble  and  the  expense  of  a  journey  to  Holland  for 
ordination,  the  regular  ministry  here  denounced  him, 
warning  their  churches  against  liim,  and  in  1731  a  simi- 
lar act  was  passed  by  the  church  of  Kingston,  calling 
him  a  schismatic  Avith  Johannes  Ilardenburg  (father  of 
J.  R.  Hardenburg),  The  old  record  says:  "The  said 
Van  Driessen  having  preached  dangerous  doctrines,  in 
a  barn  in  Henley,  on  the  Sunday  previous  in  New  Paltz, 
and  on  September  21st  in  Marble"  (Marbletown).  His 
lu^resy  evidently  consisted  not  so  much  in  his  doctrines 
as  the  want  of  regularity  in  his  ordination.'-  Notwith- 
standing this  opposition,  his  ministry  was  successful  at 
New  Paltz. 

From  1736  to  1751,  no  regular  record  has  been  dis- 
covered of  this  church,  except  occasional  entries,  when 
baptisms  and  marriages  were  solemnized  by  the  Rev. 
Theodosius  Frelinghuysen,  of  Albany,    and   tlie   Rev. 

*  ITist.  Hug.  Church,  Xew  Paltz,  by  Rev.  0.  II.  Stitt. 


EARLIEST   CHUECIIES   IN   NEW   YORK.  403 

Isaac  Chalker,  the  Rev.  Johannes  H.  Goetschius,  with 
probably  Dominie  Mancins,  from  Kingston.*  In  the 
year  1741,  the  Consistory  of  New  Paltz,  uniting  with 
those  of  Rochester,  Marbletown,  and  Shawangunk, 
called  the  Rev.  John  Casparus  Freyenmoet  to  be  their 
pastor,  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum  : 
Rochester  contributing  thirty-one  pounds  six  shillings 
and  a  parsonage  for  one-third  of  his  services ;  Marble- 
town,  thirty-six  pounds  fourteen  shillings  for  a  third ; 
and  New  Paltz  and  Shawajigunk  thirty-one  pounds  for 
the  remaining  third. 

After  him,  Johannes  Henricus  Goetschius  served  this 
congregation.  He  was  born  in  SAvitzerland,  and  studied 
at  Zurich,  the  birthplace  of  Zuingie,  the  great  reformer. 
In  the  year  1748,  he  was  properly  ordained  by  the 
Classis  of  Amsterdam,  and  settled  in  the  Hackensack 
church.  He  was  a  scholar  and  a  teacher  of  theology, 
and  a  preacher  of  intrepid  earnestness.  It  is  related, 
that  while  preaching  on  Long  Island,  the  doors  of  a 
church  closed  against  him,  he  mounted  the  steps  and 
delivered  a  povrerful  sermon  to  a  large  and  sympathi- 
zing congregation.  A  majority  of  the  HacJvensack  Con- 
sistory also  deliberated,  one  Sunday,  about  closing  their 
church-doors  against  him,  when,  buckling  on  a  sword, 
he  declared,  "I  will  do  what  I  must  for  my  rights," 
and,  thus  accoutred,  actually  entered  the  pulpit. 

Mr.  Goetschius  had  charge  of  the  Sclu^aalenbergh  and 
Hackensack  congregations  from  1748  to  1774,  and  taught 
theology  at  the  latter  place.  During  the  whole  period 
of  his  ministry,   seven  years,   it  was  a  season  of  the 

*  Hist.  Hug.  Church,  New  Paltz,  by  Rev.  C.  H.  StitL 


404  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

Lord's  presence  and  power.     At  a  single  communion,  in 

1751,  he  received  eighty-seven  members.     In  the  year 

1752,  Barent  Vrooman  received  a  call  from  New  Paltz, 
and  was  installed  the  next  year,  remaining  only  till 
1754,  when  he  became  pastor  at  Schenectady. 

Johannes  Mauritius  Goetschius,  a  younger  brother  of 
the  dominie  already  referred  to,  came  a  physician  to 
America  about  1744,  but  immediately  commenced  the 
study  of  divinity.  Ordained  in  the  year  1758,  he  took 
charge  of  the  High  and  Low  Dutch  church  of  Scho- 
harie, preacliing  in  German  and  Dutch,  and  practising 
medicine.  In  1760,  he  became  tlie  pastor  of  the  two 
churches  at  New  Paltz  and  Shawangunk,  "each  congre- 
gation to  pay  him  forty  pounds,  good  New  York  gold^^'' 
an  article  so  scarce  and  high  in  these  war  times.  He  was 
called  the  ' '  Doctor  Dominie, ' '  and  his  labors  must  have 
been  extensive  and  arduous,  extending,  as  they  did, 
from  Bloomingdale  to  NeAV  Prospect,  a  distance  of  some 
thirty  miles.  A  skilful  physician,  he  was  called,  it  is 
related,  to  visit  a  fearfully  insane  person,  by  the  name 
of  Jacob  Lefever,  Quick  as  thought  the  dominie  took 
a  violm,  and  ]3laying  with  a  masterly  hand,  the  notr^s 
Avere  so  sweet  and  soothing  that  the  maniac  patient  be 
came  at  once  soothed  and  calm  ;  and,  leaping  from  his 
bed,  he  danced  until  profuse  perspiration  followed  the 
exercise,  and,  striking  his  hand  on  his  head,  he  ex- 
claimed, "I  have  been  crazy!''  Permanent  cure  was 
the  result  of  this  novel,  yet  sensible,  practice,  Mr. 
Goetschius  continued  in  tliis  useful  field  of  labor  until 
his  death,  in  1771,  and  his  ashes  rest  under  the  north 
side  of  the  Eeformed  Dutch  church  at  Shawangunk. 


EAELIEST  CHURCHES  IN  NEW   YORK.  405 

All  readers  of  the  religious  liistory  of  tliese  times  will 
bring  to  remembrance  the  difficulties  produced  by  the 
''Ccetus"  and  "  Conferentia"  parties  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church.  To  say  the  least  of  the  contest,  it  was 
a  pious  strife,  if  we  can  A^ith  propriety  use  such  a  term. 
It  terminated  in  an  open  division  (1767),  when  a  Second 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  Paltz  was  organized 
by  the  Rev.  Isaac  Rysdyck,  of  Poughkeepsie  and  Fish- 
kill.  Noah  Eltinge  was  chosen  elder,  and  Petrus  Van 
Wagenen  deacon,  and  the  new  church  numbered  five 
members  from  Kingston  and  ten  from  New  Paltz.  This 
new  organization,  however,  arising  from  dissension,  de- 
clined and  died  in  a  few  years.  Their  ministers  were 
the  Rev.  G.  D.  Cock,  1768  to  '70;  Rev.  Ryneer  Van 
Neste,  1774,  with  a  salary  of  one  hundred  pounds  ;  and 
he  remained  pastor  until  this  congregation  merged  into 
the  Coetus,  or  First  Church  of  New  Paltz,  under  the 
Rev.  Stephen  Goetschius.  The  old,  or  first  church  at 
New  Paltz,  was*  finally  taken  down,  and  its  material 
converted  usefully  into  a  village  schoolhouse,  still  re- 
maining. On  its  site,  a  new  and  more  commodious 
stone  building  was  erected,  with  a  hipped  roof,  similar 
to  the  "Old  Middle  Dutch,"  New  York,  and  sur- 
mounted with  cupola  and  bell,  tlie  last  still  usefully 
serving  the  village  schoolhouse.  This  new  temple  of 
the  Lord  was  dedicated  to  His  service  A.  D.  1770. 

In  the  year  1775,  the  Rev.  Stephen  Goetschius  took 
the  spiritual  oversight  of  this  congregation,  with  the 
one  at  New  Henley,  remaining  until  1796,  when  he  re- 
moved to  the  church  of  Marbletown.  He  received  his 
preparatory  studies  under  Dr.  Peter  Wilson,  then  of 


406  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YOIJK. 

Hackensack,  but  afterwards  professor  at  Columbia  Col- 
lege, and  so  well  remembered  by  many  liberally-edu- 
cated New  Yorkers.  Dominie  Goetschius  obtained  Ms 
bachelor's  degree  at  Princeton,  reading  divinity  under 
his  father,  at  Hackensack ;  Dr.  Livingston,  New  York ; 
Dr.  Westerlo,  Albany ;  and  Dr.  Verbryck,  Tappan. 

The  preaching  of  this  young  licentiate  happily  healed 
the  breach  betAveen  the  two  congregations  at  the  Paltz, 
uniting  them  into  one  communion,  and  thus  restoring 
peace  in  their  beloved  Zion.  He  labored  during  thc^ 
stormy  times  of  the  American  Eevolution,  and  says,  in 
one  of  his  discourses :  "At  the  close  of  the  war,  I  per- 
ceived there  Avere  places  where  new  congregations  might 
be  gathered.  I  did  undertake,  collected,  and  organized 
nine  churches.  Being  the  only  minister  in  the  Dutcli 
Church  in  Ulster  County,  my  labors  in  solemnizing  mar- 
riages, in  visiting,  and  performing  parochial  duties,  Avere 
very  severe,  and  rather  more  than  I  could  endure ;  but 
the  Lord  helped  me,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe."* 

He  Avas  a  man  of  small  stature,  but  bold  and  fearless 
in  denouncing  sin — a  sound  preacher.  His  A^acant  Sab- 
baths Avere  spent  at  WaAvarsing,  a  valley  Avest  of  the 
mountains,  distant  tAventy  miles  from  Paltz.  At  this 
period  tlie  Indians  visited  its  defenceless  inhabitants 
Avith  fire  and  death,  and  he  speaks  of  preaching  in  a  pul- 
pit cut  and  disfigured  by  their  bloody  tomahaAvks.  The 
church  had  been  set  on  fire,  but  it  Avent  out  of  its  OAvn 
accord,  and  thus  escaped  destruction  by  the  intervening 
kind  proA^dence  of  the  Lord.  Witli  the  excej)tion  of 
three  houses,    the  Avhole   of   this    retired   village   AA^as 

*  Eev.  Mr.  Stitts's  Hist. 


"EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  407 

burned  to  the  ground.     He  also  mentions  an  old  man, 
an  elder  in  the  churcli,  who,  not  able  to  retreat  with  the 
other  flying  inhabitants,  was  shot  and  scaljied  on  the 
road.     It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  Christian  settle- 
ment of  New  Paltz  escaped  the  scenes  of  cruelty  and 
bloodshed  which  so  early  visited  the  surrounding  neigh- 
borhood.    This  good  fortune,  we  doubt  not,  was  owing 
to  the  treaty  early  made  with  the  Indans,  the  Huguenot 
settlers  paying  a  fair  compensation  for  their  lands,  and 
they  then  strictly  respected  its  provisions.     Toward  the 
last  of  his  ministry,  Dominie  Goetscliius,  to  meet  the 
wants  of  his  younger  hearers,  preached  alternately  in 
Dutch  and  Englisli.     The  former  his  vernacular,  it  was 
difficult  for  him,  at  once,  to  use  the  new  language,  but 
by  perseverance  he  succeeded.     His  first  discourse  in 
the  new  tongue  was  from  Rom.  xiv.  8:   "For  whether 
we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord,"  &c.     He  finally  settled 
at  Saddle  River,  there  ending  his  ministry  full  of  years 
and  usefulness.     The  text  of  his  farewell  and  last  ser- 
mon, was  Eph.   v^i.  24:  "Grace  be  with  all  them  that 
love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.     Amen."     He 
thus  concluded:   "Farewell,  farewell,  friends  and  fel- 
low-Christians !     From  henceforth  ye  shall  see  me  no 
more   as   your   ordinary  shepherd  and   teacher  in  the 
sacred  desk.     Be  of  one  mind  ;  be  of  good  cheer  ;  live 
in  peace,  and  the  God  of  peace  Avill  be  with  you. 

"  Omden  will  der  vrie^en  myn 
Andder  broderin,  die  binaer  zyn ; 
Wensachre  ik  in  vrede  in  alle  packen, 
Om  dat  Gon  temple  zeer  ryn, 
Staat  binnen  were  muren  neit  klyn, 
Zalik  steeds  an  voors  pocdracken." 

Ps.  122. 


408  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  - 

After  a  vacancy  of  three  years,  the  Rev.  Johu  H. 
Meyers  took  the  pastorate  of  Paltz  and  New  Henley,  in 
1799,  preaching  in  both  languages — and,  it  is  said,  elo- 
quently, A  peculiar  unction  attended  his  sermons.  In 
the  year  1803,  he  settled  at  Schenectady,  where  he  soon 
died.  Then  came  the  Rev.  Peter  Ditmas  Freligh,  his 
ministry  lasting  six  years  at  the  Paltz  ;  when,  removing 
to  Acquackanonck,  New  Jersey,  in  1814,  he  there  fin- 
ished his  course. 

In  the  year  1817,  the  Rev.  William  R.  Bogardus  occu- 
pied this  field  of  Christian  labors,  continuing  to  1831, 
and  then  he  also  took  the  pastoral  relation  to  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  of  Acquackanonck.  In  the  year 
1857,  he  retired  to  Paterson,  Avithout  any  charge,  and 
afterwards  lived  with  his  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  J.  Ro- 
meyn  Berry,  at  Kinderhook.  He  was  an  untiring 
pastoral  laborer,  with  a  remarkable  power  to  adapt  his 
discourses  to  the  wants  of  his  flock,  in  preaching  Christ. 
He  has  recently  been  called  to  his  seat  in  the  uj)per 
sanctuary. 

During  his  ministry.  New  Henley  was  separated  from 
the  Paltz,  the  latter  retaining  his  exclusive  services. 

In  1832,  the  Rev.  Dominie  Van  Olinda  succeeded  him 
tiU  1844,  and  then  removing  to  the  church  at  Fonda,  he 
soon  died.  Under  his  direction  the  new  Paltz  Academy 
was  established,  and  by  his  efforts  the  second  stone 
church  there  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  brick  one 
built  near  its  site,  witli  parts  of  the  material  from  the 
old.  This  is  a  spacious,  beautiful  house  of  the  Lord, 
and  dedicated  December  17,  1839.  After  Dominie  Van 
Olinda,  the  Rev.  John  C.  A^'andcrvoort  became  the  pas- 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK.  409 

tor  of  this  flock,  1845  ;  and,  faithfully  laboring  in  the 
cause  of  his  IMaster,  he  removed  to  the  congregation  at 
West  Ghent.  Here  this  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  having  ended  a  tedious  sickness,  fell  asleep  in 
Christ. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  present  excellent  pastor,  in 
the  year  1848,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Stitt.*  We  have  thus 
extended  our  notice  of  the  earliest  churches  of  New 
Paltz,  because  so  little  has  been  collected  of  their  inter- 
esting history. 

*  To  this  geutleman's  researches  we  owe  much  of  our  New  Paltz  history. 


410  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

FIRST    CHURCH     IN    ALBANY,    1642 PULPIT    IMPORTED ENLARGED 

SECOND  AND  THIRD  CHURCHES REV.  J.  MEGAPOLENSIS  THE  EARLI- 
EST   DOMINIE SALARY DOMINIE    SCHAATS,    1652 REVS.    M.    NIE- 

MENHUYSEN     AND     N.     VAN     RENSSELAER LATTER     SUSPECTED     OF 

BEING    A    PAPIST ARRESTED,  CUT    RELEASED    BY    THE    GOVERNOR 

EEV.  MR.  DELLIUS  ARRIVES,  1683 BAPTISMAL  REGISTER  PRE- 
SERVED  DOMINIES       LUCELLA,      LEDIUS,      AND       VAN       DRIESSEN 

CHURCH    REBUILT    IN  I7l5 REVS.  C.  VAN    SCHLIE    AND    T.    FRELING- 

HUYSEN,    1760 E.    WESTERLO J.    BASSET NEW    CHURCH     BUILT 

REVS.    A.    B.    JOHNSON,    J.    W.    BRADFORD,    1805 FIRST     SETTLER    IN 

SCHENECTADY ITS      MASSACRE,      1690 REV.      MR.      TASSOMAKER 

KILLED REVS.    T.     BROWN,    B.    FREEMAN,    R.    ERKSON,    C.    VAN    SANT- 

VOORT,  B.  KOOMER,  J.  D.  ROMEYN,  J.  H.  MYERS,  C.  COGARDUS,  J. 
VAN  VEGHTEN — FIRST  AND  SECOND  CHURCH — ST.  GEORGe's,  FIRST 
EPISCOPAL  (1762),  J.  DUNCAN,  RECTOR REV.  MR.  DOTY  AND  AN- 
DREWS, AND  ROGERS,  ETC. CAPTAIN  WEBB  INTRODUCES  METHOD- 
ISM  PREACHES    IN    REGIMENTALS HIS    SUCCESS WIIITEFIELD 

CHURCH     BUILT CONCLUDING     REMARKS BLESSED    RESULTS    FROM 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THESE  EARLY  CHURCHES  IN  NEW  YORK 
AND    NEW    AMSTERDAM. 

As  early  as  1642  a  small  stone  churcli  was  built,  niue- 
teen  by  thirty-four  feet,  at  Albany,  and  its  pulpit  im- 
ported complete  from  Holland,  and  is  still  preserved. 
The  sacred  edilice  had  pews  for  the  deacons  and  magis- 
trates, with  only  nine  benches,  but  the  humble  place  of 
worship  answered  its  pious  purposes  for  thirteen  years, 
when  it  was  enlarged  in  a  curious  way.  Small  as  was 
this  infant  church,  as  early  as  1C47  it  could  loan  two 


EARLIEST   CIIUECHES   IN  NEW   YORK.  411- 

hundred  guilders  to  the  Patroon,  for  which  the  "  Diaco- 
nie"  or  Deacons  received  an  interest  of  ten  per  cent.  In 
the  year  1651,  a  new  "stoop"  or  steps  were  added  to 
the  edifice,  which,  to  use  the  Language  of  an  old  record, 
would  answer  the  i^urposes  of  the  congregation  "for  the 
next  three  or  four  years,  after  which  it  might  he  con- 
verted into  a  schoolhouse  or  a  dwelling  for  the  sexton." 
A  new  stone  Avail,  built  around  the  old  church,  enclosed 
it,  so  that  the  usual  services  were  discontinued  for  three 
Sundays  only.  This  second  church  remained  ninety-two 
years,  until  1806,  directly  in  front  of  the  present  post- 
office,  when  the  stone  was  removed  to  aid  in  the  erection 
of  the  beautiful  South  Dutch  Church.  In  the  month  of 
August,  1642,  the  Rev.  Johannes  Megapolensis  arrived 
at  Albany,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Patroon.  He 
had  a  free  passage  to  New  Netherland,  with  an  outfit  of 
three  hundred  guilders,  or  one  hundred  and  twenty -four 
dollars  ;  salary,  eleven  hundred  guilders,  thirty  schepels 
or  twenty -two  and  a  half  bushels  of  wheat,  two  firkins 
of  butter,  annually,  for  the  first  three  years.  In  the 
year  1649,  Megapolensis  retired  from  Albany,  and  during 
1652,  Dominie  Gideon  Schaats  came  from  Holland,  his 
successor,  at  a  salary  of  eight  hundred  guilders  (three 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars)  per  annum,  for  three  years, 
and  this  sum  was  afterwards  increased  to  thirteen  hun- 
dred. He  is  supposed  to  have  died  in  1683 ;  and  as 
early  as  1675,  Mr.  M.  Niemenhuysen  was  his  colleague, 
when  Dominie  Nicholas  Van  Rensselaer  arrived.  He 
claimed  not  only  the  pulpit,  but  tlie  Manor  also  ;  and, 
strange  to  us,  he  was  suspected  of  being  a  Papist ! 
A   controversy  ensuing,  the   Governor  of  the   Colony 


412  EARLIEST   CHUllCIIES   IN   NEW   YOEK. 

espoused  the  part  of  the  Dutch  dominie.  The  magis- 
trates even  ordered  him  to  be  arrested  and  imprisoned  for 
"several  dubious  words"  uttered  in  a  sermon.  But  the 
Governor,  releasing  him,  compelled  them  to  show  cause 
why  they  had  confined  the  minister,  with  security  of  five 
thousand  pounds  each.  His  Excellency,  however,  fear- 
ful of  raising  a  party  against  himself,  discontinued  the 
proceedings,  referring  the  matter  to  the  Dutch  Church 
at  Albany. 

The  pulpit  and  bell  of  the  new  church  were  sent  by 
the  West  India  Company  from  Holland,  and  both  served 
the  congregation  a  century  and  a  half. 

During  the  year  1683,  the  Rev.  Godfredius  Dellius 
arrived  to  assist  Mr.  Schaats,  now  threescore  and  six- 
teen years  old.  The  baptismal  register  of  this  venerable 
Albany  church  has  been  regularly  kept  ever  since. 
Dominie  Dellius  added  many  members  to  his  congrega- 
tion, and  especially  from  the  neighboring  Mohawk  Indi- 
ans. Unwisely  led  into  property  speculations,  he  became 
involved,  which  ultimately  led  to  his  dismissal  in  169n, 
when  he  returned  to  Holland.  In  the  year  1700,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Lucella  officiated  at  Albany, — 1703,  the  Rev. 
John  Ledius  for  two  years,  and  during  1703,  Petrus 
Van  Driessen  was  called,  and  labored  until  his  death,  in 
1738.  The  church  Avas  rebuilt  in  1715,  upon  the  old 
site,  and  during  1733  we  find  the  Rev.  Cornelius  Van 
Sclilie  officiating  here,  who  died  in  1744.  Then  the  Rev. 
Theodoras  Frelinghuysen  occupied  the  pulx)it  till  1700, 
when  he  returned  to  Holland,  and  the  Rev.  Eilardus 
Westerlo  succeeded  him.  He  became  one  of  the  most 
eminent  ministers  in  our  land,  dying  (1790),  in  his  fifty- 


EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IHi   ^mv   YORK.  413 

tliird  year,  greatly  beloved.  Whilst  tlie  British  occu- 
pied New  York,  Dr.  Livingston  occasionally  exchanged 
with  Mr.  Westerlo,  and  there  was  a  disposition  to  call 
him  to  preacli  in  Dutch,  but  he  was  too  infirm  for  this 
duty.  In  1787,  the  Rev.  John  Basset  was  called.  The 
congregation  now  larger,  a  new  church  was  built  on 
North  Pearl  street,  and  services  continued  in  both. 
During  the  year  1796,  the  Rev.  John  B.  Johnson  became 
a  colleague  of  Mr.  Bassett,  continuing  till  1802,  and  died 
at  Newtown,  Long  Island,  in  1803.  He  appears  to  have 
obtained  great  popularity. 

The  Rev.  John  W.  Bradford  was  called  in  1805,  with 
a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  more  if  he  married.  This  year,  the 
ground  of  the  old  church  was  sold  for  five  thousand 
dollars,  and  its  materials  taken  to  aid  in  erecting  a  new 
one  on  Beaver  street.  Its  imported  pulpit,  weathercock, 
and  some  small  panes  of  glass  preserved,  are  all  that 
now  remain  of  this  old  temple  of  the  Lord. 

Schenectady  was  the  earliest  inland  settlement  beyond 
Albany,  and  made  by  the  Dutch,  as  the  nearest  landing 
on  the  Mohawk  River.  The  first  settler  was  named 
"Corlaer,"  before  1666;  the  name  signifying  "beyond 
the  Pine  Plains. ' '  '^  Schenectady  was  the  frontier  town, 
iind  had  its  stockades,  blockhouses,  and  gates,  but  no 
(^nemies  until  the  ever  busy  French  interfered  with  the 
Indians.  On  the  8th  of  February,  1690,  at  midnight,  the 
ground  covered  with  snow,  two  hundred  French  and 
savages,  entering  the  town  before  the  guard  had  any 
warning,  fired  almost  every  house,  and  butchered  sixty 

*  Watson's  Annals  of  New  York. 


414  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW   YORK. 

persons,  witliout  any  regard  to  age  or  sex.  Several 
were  made  j)risoners  ;  wiiile  those  wlio  escaped,  almost 
naked,  fled  towards  Albany,  in  the  midst  of  a  raging, 
terribh^  snow-storm,  some  losing  their  limbs  from  the 
intense  cold. 

The  ministers  lious(^  had  been  ordered  to  be  saved, 
that  lie  might  be  captured,  but  it  shared  the  gen(^]-al 
destruction — his  papers  burned  and  himself  among  the 
murdered.  This  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tassomaker,  the  first 
settled  minister  in  the  i^lace.  He  came  from  Holland  in  the 
year  1G84.  Before  this  period  the  inhabitants  made  their 
cliurch  visits  to  Albany,  distant  sixteen  miles.  The  mur- 
dered dominie  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Brower, 
in  the  year  1702,  also  from  Holland,  who  continued  his 
ministry  until  1728,  when  he  ended  his  earthly  labors. 
Next  came  the  Rev.  Bernardus  Freeman  and  Reinhard 
Erkson,  and  in  1740,  Cornelius  Van  Santvoort,  from  Staten 
Island,  and  he  finished  his  course  in  1754.  His  successor, 
Dominie  Barent  Koomer,  continued  the  ministerial  duties 
until  his  death,  in  1782.  There  succeeded  in  Schenectady, 
the  Rev.  J.  D.  Romeyn  and  J.  H.  Myers,  from  New  Jersey, 
Cornelius  Bogardus,  Jacob  Van  Yechten,  all  Americans, 
&c.,  &c.  The  first  church  was  erected  between  1684  and 
1G98,  a  more  commodious  one  following  in  1733,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  celebrated  for  its  fine  silver-toned  bell, 
having  much  of  the  precious  metal  in  its  composition. 
St.  George's  was  the  first  English  or  Episcopal  Church 
established  here,  about  1702,  its  principal  benefactors 
Sir  William  Johnson  and  John  Duncan.  Previous  to 
the  American  Revolution  the  congregation  owned  a  val- 
uable library  and  organ,  which  were  d(^stroyed  by  some 


EARLIEST   GIIUKCIIES   IN   NEW   YOEK.  415 

lawless  whites  and  Indians.  It  was  called  the  English 
Chnrcli,  and  such  was  then  the  opposition  against  every 
thing  English,  as  even  to  exhibit  itself  in  this  outrageous 
way.  The  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Doty,  escaped  the  vio- 
lence of  the  mob,  as  they  did  not  discover  his  abode. 
The  Rev.  IMr.  Andrews  was  the  first  pastor,  :Mr.  Doty 
following  him  (1773),  and  retiring  in  1777.  Then  there 
was  no  r(\gular  minister  until  1791,  when  the  Rev.  Amni 
Rogers  took  the  charge,  succeeded  b}^  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Whitmore,  Cyrus  Stebbins,  P.  A.  Proal,  &c.,  &c. 

Captain  Thomas  Webb,  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  "Local 
Preachers,"  introduced  Methodism  into  Schenectady. 
He  was  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  and,  stationed  in 
Alban}' ,  occasionally  visited  other  places  to  preach  the 
Gospel.  On  such  a  pious  mission  he  went  to  Schenec- 
tady, in  the  year  1767,  and  preached  with  success.  It 
was  a  strange  sight  to  hear  an  officer  in  a  military  cos- 
tume delivering  a  sermon,  but  a  number  embraced  the 
truth  from  his  ministrations.  George  Whitefield  also 
here  followed  Webb,  in  1770,  immense  crowds  assem- 
bling to  hear  him  wherever  he  appeared.  For  several 
years  the  Methodist  Society  met  in  private  dwellings  for 
religious  services,  but  finally,  in  the  year  1809,  a  suita- 
ble cliui"ch  was  built,  which  was  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent beautiful  edifice  in  the  3'ear  1836. 

From  these  early  evangelical  Churches  in  Xew  York 
and  IS^ew  Netherland  have  issued  the  streams  wliicli 
everywhere  among  us  gladden  and  enrich  our  beloved 
Zion.  What  pen  or  mortal  tongue  can  tell  the  results 
of  these  holy  institutions?     Little  did  our  pious  fore- 


416  EARLIEST   CHURCHES   IN   NEW    YORK. 

fathers,  who  hiid  the  foundations  of  the  Lord' s  temples 
in  our  land,  imagine  or  ever  anticipate  the  glorious  and 
sublime  results  which  our  eyes  behold.  They  long 
prayed,  "Thy  kingdom  come!'"  and  God,  in  a  most 
w^onderful  manner,  is  answering  that  prayer  in  our  later 
day.  The  mustard-seed  which  they  planted  has  germi- 
nated, and  lo !  a  tree  has  sprung  up  whose  "healing 
leaves"'  are  for  every  part  of  our  happy  land,  and  the 
cloud,  arising  not  larger  than  a  man' s  hand,  has  spread 
until  its  gracious  showers  have  descended  and  enriched 
every  region.  In  the  beautiful  imagery  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  Church  ' '  looks  forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as 
the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with 
banners."  Centuries  have  not  buried  the  religious  life 
and  sentiments  of  our  Protestant  forefathers.  They  were 
Bible  Cliristians.  And  who  can  doubt  but  their  prayers 
have  been  answered  in  our  day,  and  in  the  experience 
of  their  children  and  children' s  children,  by  Him  w^lio 
luis  promised — "I  will  be  a  God  to  thee,  and  thy  seed 
after  thee 


^\r 


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